Parasitoid wasp - Mimicry

Multiple mimicry traits of a parasitoid wasp -mimicing an ant. 

 In this blog I am going to write about a very interesting species, a wingless parasitoid wasp. This wasp is a hyperparasitoid wasp, meaning that it parasitises other parasitic wasps, by injecting their eggs into the cocoons that have emerged from the original host insect, for example a butterfly or spider (Harvey, 2015). 


figure 1: Gelis agilis wasp injecting its eggs into a cocoon - retrieved from https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/vacatures/lifetime-reproductive-success-two-secondary-hyperparasitoid-wasps-lysibia-nana-and-gelis (Harvey, 2015).

 It can exhibits a wide range of traits, both physiological and morphological. This species has become adapted in a special way. It mimics a common type of black ant. It has adapted these traits in order to gain protection against ground-dwelling predators, and in this case the wolf spider. Gelis agilis, the parasitoid wasp is very similar to the black garden ant Lasius niger, in both appearance and body shape, and when G.agilis is threatened, it also emits a chemical that is similar to a chemical produced by the ant that repels spiders, in particular the wolf spider (Malcicka et al., 2015).

The chemical repellent is called Sulcatone, this chemical is used in ants to call other ants to help when they are confronted with a predator. The amount of ants that arrive are too much for the predator to handle and they do not attack, instead they leave the ants and hunt elsewhere. When the wasp G.agilis releases the chemical, the predator retreats, expecting a large amount of ants to arrive (Malcicka et al., 2015). 

This type of mimicry, involving chemical mimicry is called full spectrum mimicry, as it is more than a superficial appearance, as some mimicry can be. (Malcicka et al., 2015). 

ReferencesHarvey, J. (2015). Lifetime reproductive success in two secondary hyperparasitoid wasps, Lysibia nana and Gelis agilis. [online] Nioo.knaw.nl. Available at: https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/vacatures/lifetime-reproductive-success-two-secondary-hyperparasitoid-wasps-lysibia-nana-and-gelis [Accessed 13 Apr. 2015].

Malcicka, M., Bezemer, T., Visser, B., Bloemberg, M., Snart, C., Hardy, I. and Harvey, J. (2015). Multi-trait mimicry of ants by a parasitoid wasp. Scientific Reports, 5, p.8043.