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39 results for “Ant mimicry”
An arachnid's guide to being an ant: Morphological and behavioural mimicry in ant-mimicking spiders
<p>Batesian mimicry imposes several challenges to mimics and evokes adaptations in multiple sensory modalities. Myrmecomorphy, morphological and behavioral resemblance to ants, is seen in over 2000 arthropod species. Ant-like resemblance is observed in at least 13 spider families despite spiders having a distinct body plan compared to ants. Quantifying the extent to which spiders' shape, size, and behavior resemble model ants will allow us to comprehend the evolutionary pressures that have facilitated myrmecomorphy. <em>Myrmaplata</em> <em>plataleoides</em> are thought to closely resemble weaver ants, <em>Oecophylla</em> <em>smaragdina</em>. In this study, we quantify the speed of movement of model, mimic, and non-mimetic jumping spiders. We use traditional and geometric morphometrics to quantify traits such as foreleg and hindleg size and body shape between the model ant, mimic, and non-mimics. Our results suggest that while the mimics closely resemble the model ants in speed of movement, they occupy an intermediate morphological space compared to the model ants and non-mimics. We suggest that ant-mimicking spiders are better at mimicking ants' locomotory movement than morphology and overall body shape. Our study provides a framework to understand the multimodal nature of mimicry and helps discern the relative contributions of such traits that drive mimetic accuracy in ant-mimicking spiders.</p>
Data from: Walking like an ant: a quantitative and experimental approach to understanding locomotor mimicry in the jumping spider Myrmarachne formicaria
Protective mimicry, in which a palatable species avoids predation by being mistaken for an unpalatable model, is a remarkable example of adaptive evolution. These complex interactions between mimics, models and predators can explain similarities between organisms beyond the often-mechanistic constraints typically invoked in studies of convergent evolution. However, quantitative studies of protective mimicry typically focus on static traits (e.g. colour and shape) rather than on dynamic traits like locomotion. Here, we use high-speed cameras and behavioural experiments to investigate the role of locomotor behaviour in mimicry by the ant-mimicking jumping spider Myrmarachne formicaria, comparing its movement to that of ants and non-mimicking spiders. Contrary to previous suggestions, we find mimics walk using all eight legs, raising their forelegs like ant antennae only when stationary. Mimics exhibited winding trajectories (typical wavelength = 5–10 body lengths), which resemble the winding patterns of ants specifically engaged in pheromone-trail following, although mimics walked on chemically inert surfaces. Mimics also make characteristically short (approx. 100 ms) pauses. Our analysis suggests that this makes mimics appear ant-like to observers with slow visual systems. Finally, behavioural experiments with predatory spiders yield results consistent with the protective mimicry hypothesis. These findings highlight the importance of dynamic behaviours and observer perception in mimicry.
Data from: Walking like an ant: a quantitative and experimental approach to understanding locomotor mimicry in the jumping spider Myrmarachne formicaria
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An arachnid’s guide to being an ant: Morphological and behavioural mimicry in ant-mimicking spiders
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Thistle-down velvet ants in the Desert Mimicry Ring and the evolution of white coloration: Müllerian mimicry, camouflage, and thermal ecology
Adaptive coloration among animals is one of the most recognizable outcomes of natural selection. Here we investigate evolutionary drivers of white coloration in velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae), which has previously been considered camouflage with the fruit of creosote bush. Our analyses indicate instead that velvet ants evolved white coloration millions of years before creosote bush was widespread in North America's hot deserts. Furthermore, velvet ants and the creosote fruit exhibit different spectral reflectance patterns, which appear distinct to potential insectivorous predators. While the white coloration in velvet ants likely did not evolve as camouflage, we find that white-colored species remain cooler than their red/orange relatives, and therefore we infer the white coloration likely evolved in response to Neogene desertification. This study shows the importance of cross-disciplinary investigation and the importance of testing multiple hypotheses when investigating evolutionary drivers of adaptive coloration.
Figure 9 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 9. Above: distribution map of Colobopsis samples examined – countries where Colobopsis presence is known from the literature are highlighted in grey. Below: approximate distributions of other Camponotini (Camponotus barbaricus, of C. micans and of C. ruber) which resemble that of CSL Colobopsis.
Figure 10. Colobopsis imitans. A, B, E in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 10. Colobopsis imitans. A, B, E, worker (holotypus); C, D, F, G, soldier (specimen from the type locality). Scale bars: 0.5 mm. Pictures also available on AntWeb.org database, specimen codes: ANTWEB1041481 and ANTWEB1041482.
Figure 5 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 5. Principal component analyses of morphometric data of Colobopsis nest samples according to the two clusters evidenced by NC-PART clustering. Each small dot represents a colony sample. Large dots represent centroids.
Figure 6 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 6. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree based on the barcode fragment of the mtCOI gene from the Colobopsis specimens sequenced.
Figure 4 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 4. Dendrogram comparing the results of 'kmeans', and 'hclust' in NC Clustering of Colobopsis morphometric raw data. Two samples (4.5% of the total) are misplaced by both the dendrogram and one of the partitioning analyses, NC-part. kmeans; partially different samples being affected in each of the three analyses. The other partitioning analysis, NC-part. hclust returned the same sample assignment as the LDA did.
Figure 3 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 3. Chromatic ratios calculated from pictures of the Colobopsis CSL and DQL patterns and from pictures of the two putative model species Cr. scutellaris and D. quadripunctatus (N = 2 0 for each species or chromatic form). Boxplots show mean and standard deviation, while whiskers represent minimum and maximum values. Dots correspond to measured individuals. Their dispersal on the X-axis is a randomized graphic effect to avoid overlaps.
Figure 2 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 2. Type material of the described West-Palaearctic Colobopsis, all showing to the 'D. quadripunctatus-like' pattern. A, holotype queen of Colobopsis truncata from Liguria, Italy, preserved at the Turin Natural History Museum (Italy). B, syntype worker of Colobopsis fuscipes from Austria (picture from AntWeb.org, FOCOL2496; photographer: Christiana Klingenberg), preserved at the Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität Berlin (Berlin, Germany). Note that the queen's red colour in the anterior heavily sculptured part of the phragmotic head is not relevant to evaluating its chromatic pattern. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.
Figure 11. Colobopsis imitans. A, B, E, F in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 11. Colobopsis imitans. A, B, E, F, queen; C, D, G, male. Specimens from the type locality. Scale bars: 0.5 mm. Pictures also available on AntWeb.org database, specimen codes: ANTWEB1041483 and ANTWEB1041484.
Figure 8 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 8. Trail-following behaviour on Crematogaster scutellaris trails by other ants (indicated with arrows). On the left (A, C, E) CSL Colobopsis; on the right (B, D, F) Camponotus lateralis observed in the same locality performing the same behaviour (photos taken in Palermo (Sicily) during field surveys).
Figure 12 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 12. Male genitalia of Colobopsis imitans in ventral and dorsal view, specimen from the type locality. Scale bars = 0.25 mm.
Figure 1 in Is mimicry a diversification-driver in ants? Biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics and morphology define a second West-Palaearctic Colobopsis species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Figure 1. The model species and the two detected chromatic model patterns of Colobopsis: A, Crematogaster scutellaris; B, CSL Colobopsis from Sicily; C, Dolichoderus quadripunctatus from Tuscany; D, DQL Colobopsis from Tuscany.
FIGURE 7 in Grismadox elsneri sp. nov.-a new species of ant-resembling sac spider from the Bolivian orocline, with indirect evidence of species-specific mimicry (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae)
FIGURE 7. Live habitus of Grismadox elsneri sp. nov. and its putative ant models: A, female paratype (CBF); B, male holotype (IBSI-Ara 1710); C, Camponotus cf. crassus Mayr, 1862; D, C. cf. blandus (F. Smith, 1858).
FIGURE 5 in Grismadox elsneri sp. nov.-a new species of ant-resembling sac spider from the Bolivian orocline, with indirect evidence of species-specific mimicry (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae)
FIGURE 5. Grismadox elsneri sp. nov., female genitalia: A, epigyne paratype (IBSI-Ara 1711), ventral; B, idem, dorsal (vulva); C, detail of CO, ventral; D, detail of ST, dorsal; E, detail of FD, dorsal (CO = copulatory opening; ST I = primary spermatheca; ST II = secondary spermathecae; FD = fertilization duct).
FIGURE 6 in Grismadox elsneri sp. nov.-a new species of ant-resembling sac spider from the Bolivian orocline, with indirect evidence of species-specific mimicry (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae)
FIGURE 6. Grismadox elsneri sp. nov.: A, habitat, savanna grassland at the edge of Chiquitano forest; B, female paratype (CBF), life habitus in habitat, on a dry grass leaf.
FIGURE 3 in Grismadox elsneri sp. nov.-a new species of ant-resembling sac spider from the Bolivian orocline, with indirect evidence of species-specific mimicry (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae)
FIGURE 3. Grismadox elsneri sp. nov., palp, male holotype (IBSI-Ara 1710): A, ventral view; B, retrolateral view; C, bulb, ventral view; D, detail of embolus, ventral view (dRTA = dorso-retrolateral tibial apophysis; vRTA = ventro-retrolateral tibial apophysis).
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
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