Abstract
Exploitation of organisms by multiple parasite species is common in nature, but interactions among parasites have rarely been studied. Myrmica ants are rich in parasites. Among others, the ectoparasitic Rickia wasmannii fungus and the parasitic caterpillars of myrmecophilous Phengaris butterflies often infect the same Myrmica colonies. In this study, we examined the effects of R. wasmannii on the adoption, long-term development, and survival of P. alcon. In laboratory conditions, caterpillars introduced into nests of Myrmica scabrinodis uninfected with R. wasmannii survived significantly longer compared to caterpillars introduced into infected nests. In the field, joint infection was less common than expected if both parasites exploited M. scabrinodis colonies independently. Pre-pupal caterpillars of P. alcon were somewhat larger in nests infected with R. wasmannii than those found in uninfected nests. Based on these results it seems that R. wasmannii infection of M. scabrinodis affects the survival and development of P. alcon caterpillars, suggesting competition between these two ant parasites.
Highlights
Exploitation of organisms by multiple parasite species is common in nature, but interactions among parasites have rarely been studied
In this study we examined the effects of R. wasmannii on the adoption and long-term development and survival of P. alcon
It is clear that R. wasmannii infection of M. scabrinodis affects the survival and development of P. alcon caterpillars, which suggests c ompetition[1,2] between these two ant associates, this effect is subtle
Summary
Exploitation of organisms by multiple parasite species is common in nature, but interactions among parasites have rarely been studied. Colonies of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are subject to numerous parasites, ranging from pathogens and endo- and ecto- macroparasites and parasitoids that exploit individuals, to social parasites that exploit entire colonies and their r esources[13,14,15,16,17,18,19] This makes ant colonies good model organisms for parasitological studies. Their colonies often provide a home for different social parasites, including other Myrmica species, Lomechusa beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Platyarthrus woodlice (Isopoda, Platyarthridae), Cyphoderus springtails (Entomobryomorpha: Paronellidae), larvae of Microdon hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) and the caterpillars of Phengaris (= Maculinea) butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Over the last two decades we have investigated two parasites of Myrmica ants in detail (Fig. 1, Supplementary Video S1), socially parasitic Phengaris butterflies and the ectoparasitic fungus Rickia wasmannii (Ascomycota: Scientific Reports | (2021) 11:24031
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