Show threadMikko KolkkalaOct 20, 2023

Unfortunately, two very interesting social parasite species - workerless inquiline #Temnothorax #minutissimus and slavemaker T. #duloticus - seem to be missing from this study

https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5729518/

#phylogeny #ants #parasitism #SocialParasitism #workerless #inquiline #slavemaker

Insights into the evolution, biogeography and natural history of the acorn ants, genus Temnothorax Mayr (hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Temnothorax (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) is a diverse genus of ants found in a broad spectrum of ecosystems across the northern hemisphere. These diminutive ants have long served as models for social insect behavior, leading to discoveries about social learning ...

PubMed Central (PMC)
Show threadMikko KolkkalaOct 20, 2023
Unfortunately, two very interesting social parasite species - workerless inquiline #Temnothorax #minutissimus and slavemaker T. #duloticus - seem to be missing from this study ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles... #phylogeny #ants #parasitism #SocialParasitism #workerless #inquiline #slavemaker
Show threadMikko KolkkalaOct 20, 2023

Here's a more comprehensive phylogeny [by me]. Social parasite ants are so cool!

#SocialParasitism #workerless #inquiline #slavemaker #ants #phylogeny #EvolutionaryTree #TreeOfLife #Formicoxenus #Leptothorax #Harpagoxenus #Temnothorax

Show threadMikko KolkkalaOct 20, 2023
Here's a more comprehensive phylogeny [by me]. Social parasite ants are so cool! #SocialParasitism #workerless #inquiline #slavemaker #ants #phylogeny #EvolutionaryTree #TreeOfLife #Formicoxenus #Leptothorax #Harpagoxenus #Temnothorax
Show threadMikko KolkkalaOct 20, 2023

@barrygoldman1

Yes, #Temnothorax.

T. #minutissimus #workerless #inquiline

T. #curvispinosus host

T. #duloticus #slavemaker

T. #longispinosus host

T. #ambiguus host

T. (formerly #Protomognathus) #americanus slavemaker

XCsciMar 12, 2023

Possible solution to the mystery of the rapid, parallel, and #sympatric #evolution of #ant #workerless social #parasites (#inquilines): a single #mutation in a #supergene.

https://cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00136-7 Trible et al. 2023

A caste differentiation mutant elucidates the evolution of socially parasitic ants

Trible et al. report a variant strain of the clonal raider ant that expresses queen-like traits in individuals that would normally become workers. These obligately parasitic variants have a mutated supergene and arose directly from their free-living parent strain, suggesting a genetic mechanism for the evolution of ant workerless social parasites.

Current Biology