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.

Counter evolutionary methods and More about Chick that mimics caterpillar

Moth defense against a Spider

Moths are covered in tiny scales. When the moth hits the web the tiny scales can shed off and allow the moth to break free (Brunetta and Craig, 2010). The moth may have developed this as a defense towards the spiders web over the thousands of years.

figure 1: The microscopic scales on a moths wings. (Irving, 2015)

However in my previous blog about the bolas spider, I said that the spider creates a globular blob which then sticks to the moth that flies into it. Therefore the moths scales would make little impact to help free itself. This technique of shedding scales could only work on a silk web. The moth gets hit by the bolas and when it tries to free itself it makes itself more tangled in the web (Brunetta and Craig, 2010).  

A different possible defense to the bolas spider is that the bolas spider produces two pheromones to attract two different types of moth. Lacinipolia reginera is one of the moths and when it detects its pheromone it flies towards it, even if a different pheromone is being released from the area/ source too.
However a different species of moth from the same area Tetanolita mynesalis is attracted to its pheromone, however if a different pheromone is also being released such as the one for L.reginera, it flies away (Burchsted, 2015).This is one defense mechanism that the L.reginera has developed against the bolas spider.

Laniocera hypopyrra -Chick that mimics a caterpillar (answered questions)

One of the questions asked on the previous blog was if the chick was a similar size to the caterpillar. 

According to the American naturalist journal the chick is 14cm in length, which is a very close size to the caterpillar, which is 12cm in length (Yirka, 2015)  . 

Another fascinating fact about this chick is that it acts like the caterpillar almost exactly.  It make movements and doesn't call out until it receives a signal from its mother. Then it resumes to being like a chick (Yirka, 2015).

References

 Brunetta, L. and Craig, C. (2010). Spider silk. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Burchsted, A. (2015). Bola Spiders Lure and Eat Moths. [online] Suite. Available at: https://suite.io/albert-burchsted/2pjn2a5 [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].

Irving, R. (2015). Wing scales help camouflage from sonar: moth - AskNature. [online] Asknature.org. Available at: http://www.asknature.org/strategy/be92d2132e07f8a21d54f687a314a878#.VSEwSvnF-8A [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].

Yirka, B. (2015). Amazonian bird chicks mimic poisonous caterpillar to avoid detection. [online] Phys.org. Available at: http://phys.org/news/2014-12-amazonian-bird-chicks-mimic-poisonous.html [Accessed 5 Apr. 2015].

Baby bird mimics a toxic caterpillar

Chick that mimics a caterpillar

This weeks blog is going to be on a very interesting example of Batesian mimicry taken from the Peruvian rain forest, the Amazon. This is an area with high nest predation (Londoño et al 2015).  Therefore extreme types of evolution has occurred. The species Laniocera hypopyrra looks like a normal bird, however its young are completely different. 




Figure 1: This is the adult Laniocera hypopyrra bird. Photo by Sylvian Uriot taken from http://featuredcreature.com/bizarre-baby-bird-mimics-toxic-caterpillar-escape-predation/. 

The picture below appears to be a poisonous caterpillar from the family Magalopygidae. This species is even known to be deadly for humans (if they ingest the caterpillar).  However it is the L.hypopyrra chick. The chick moves and looks like a caterpillar. It moves its head from side to side around a week after it is hatched(Londoño et al 2015). This movement appears to be the same as the caterpillar. which deceives any possible predators including various different species of monkey and snakes (Londoño et al 2015). Figure 3 shows the actual toxic caterpillar. The appearance is remarkably similar. 

The bright colouration is extremely conspicuous and therefore in any other circumstance the bird would be eaten easily as it would be seen by predators. The bright orange colour does not blend in with the surrounding rain forest foliage.  This is the chicks only form of defense against predation. The young birds are weak and blind.Therefore the Batesian mimicry must be the cause for this colouration.(Londoño et al 2015)

Figure 2: Laniocera hypopyrra chick which mimics a toxic catterpillar. Photo taken by Santiago David-Rivera taken from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26689-zoologger-the-bird-that-mimics-a-toxic-caterpillar.html#.VRfKy_nF-8A. 





Figure 3: Magalopygidae catterpillar. Photo taken by unknown, taken from http://www.ttnaturelink.com/ttnaturetrips/tale-forests

Next week I will talk about the counter evolutionary strategies of these Predators and prey that I have blogged about. I will talk about how the deceived species respond to the mimicry.

References

Featured Creature, (2014). Bizarre Baby Bird Mimics a Toxic Caterpillar To Escape Predation | Featured Creature. [online] Available at: http://featuredcreature.com/bizarre-baby-bird-mimics-toxic-caterpillar-escape-predation/ [Accessed 29 Mar. 2015].

Londoño, G., García, D. and Sánchez Martínez, M. (2015). Morphological and Behavioral Evidence of Batesian Mimicry in Nestlings of a Lowland Amazonian Bird. The American Naturalist, 185(1), pp.135-141.

Newscientist.com, (2015). Zoologger: The bird that mimics a toxic caterpillar - life - 11 December 2014 - New Scientist. [online] Available at: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26689-zoologger-the-bird-that-mimics-a-toxic-caterpillar.html#.VRfKy_nF-8A [Accessed 29 Mar. 2015].

Aggressive mimicry

Aggressive mimicry

In my last blog I wrote about prey deceiving predators. In this post I am going to talk about aggressive mimicry. Aggressive mimickers are predators that deceive their prey.
One example is myrmecomorphy, this is when spiders mimic ants.


Figure 1: Myrmarachne plataleoides- batesian mimics of Weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina. Photo by Sunny Joseph.(Taxo4254.wikispaces.com, 2015)

Aggressive mimicry based on Chemo-reception 

Spiders and other insects tend to avoid eating ants because of their sheer number. A colony of ants could easily take on any one predating insect. However this is the case for some mimicking spiders. The spiders prey is the ants. The spiders appearance is morphologically similiar to the ant. This however does not prove that the ants are deceived. Ants use a variety of chemo-reception techniques to identify foreign invaders or objects.
Therefore the spider must be able to deceive the ants, chemically.  Cosmophasis bitaeniata is a spider found in Australia. It can produce the chemical hydrocarbons that the weaver ants Oecophylla smaragdina produce to communicate. This then disguises the spider as a weaver ant. Allowing the spider to enter the nest and prey on the larvae and eggs. (Nelson and Jackson, 2012)

Spiders hunting specifically male moths

The bolas spider specializes on eating male moths. It does this by targeting the males senses. At night the bolas spider hangs a silk thread with a blob of sticky glue on the end and swings it around until a moth gets stuck to it. This is example is special because the spider attracts the male moth by releasing a chemical mixture similar to the female moths pheromones which the female moth releases to attract a mate.(Nelson and Jackson, 2012)


Figure 2: Bolas spider and its silk thread with the sticky glue on the end. From [http://boyslife.org/features/1263/a-photo-guide-to-my-favorite-spiders/]

References

Nelson, X. and Jackson, R. (2012).How spiders practice aggressive and Batesian mimicry . Current Zoology 58(4), pp.620-629. 

Taxo4254.wikispaces.com, (2015). taxo4254 - Myrmarachne plataleoides. [online] Available at: http://taxo4254.wikispaces.com/Myrmarachne+plataleoides [Accessed 22 Mar. 2015].

[Image] retrieved 22/03/2015 from http://boyslife.org/features/1263/a-photo-guide-to-my-favorite-spiders/

An introduction to mimicry and deception of animals

Introduction

For evolutionary biologists mimicry and deception in animals has been of great interest. This is because the evolution and genetic background of the technique and or  physiology is very complex (Searcy and Nowicki, 2005).
Most animals use some form of deception. Birds can display exaggerated body movements or singing to attract a mate(Searcy and Nowicki, 2005). Humans also use deceit, for example in any typical business presentation. Mimicry and Deception are both physiological or behavioral adaptations of an animal or plant, in order to survive and reproduce. 

Mimicry

There are 3 types of mimicry:
The first type is Batesian mimicry, which is when a defenseless prey species mimics a poisonous species, usually by mimicking the species appearance. This is seen widely in Insects such as butterflies (Kunte, 2009).

figure 1: Viceroy and Monarch butterfly   
The second type is Mullerian mimicry, this is when a mimicry ring is formed which is when multiple poisonous species all have similar colouring, the predator will learn to avoid the species which are this colour, therefore they are safe from predators (Hadley, 2015). The picture shows Ithomiinae, a day time moth(Mathieu, 2015).


Figure 2: Ithomiinae butterflies showing paticular mimic patterns.(Mathieu, 2015) from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/jim/Mim/moth.html 

The final type is self mimicry, this is when the prey species mimics the predators, predator. The species below is Lepidoptera or the Owl butterfly and it has an eye spot on its wing which mimics the eye of a vertebrate (Blut et al., 2012).


figure 3: Owl butterfly from mongabay.com 

Deception

Deception comes in various forms : 
One example would be the angler fish, the female uses a bio-luminescent lure to attract prey. The prey mistakes the lure for a worm and try to eat it, the angler fish then uses its large mouth and flexible body to eat prey up to twice the size of itself. The male acts as a parasite living on the females body (Society, 2015).

Figure 4: Angler fish taken from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/fish/anglerfish/


Another form of animal deception is a more conscious response. The Plover bird Charadrius Vociferus has a special type of deception. When a predator approaches its nest, the parent bird hobbles away from the nest, dragging its wings and pretending to be injured. The predator then follows and the bird flies away unharmed. This form of deception keeps the predator away from the nest, therefore increasing its next generations survival (Manning, 1979).

Plover bird showing its deceptive technique.

Figure 5: Plover bird peforming broken wing deception. Taken from http://rateeveryanimal.com/2012/06/20/plover/. 

There are many animals that exhibit interesting deceptive techniques and in the next series of posts I will explain some of these examples in detail. 






Blut, C., Wilbrandt, J., Fels, D., Girgel, E. and Lunau, K. (2012). The ‘sparkle’ in fake eyes - the protective effect of mimic eyespots in lepidoptera. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 143(3), pp.231-244.

Hadley, D. (2015). What Is Müllerian Mimicry?. [online] About.com Education. Available at: http://insects.about.com/od/Insect_Defenses/f/What-Is-Mullerian-Mimicry.htm [Accessed 8 Mar. 2015].

Kunte, K. (2009). The diversity and evolution OF Batesian mimicry in papilo swallowtail butterflies. Evolution, 63(10), pp.2707-2716.

Manning, A. (1979). An introduction to animal behaviour. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.

Mathieu, J. (2015). "Tiger pattern" mimicry: Heliconius numata and Melinaea. [online] Ucl.ac.uk. Available at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/taxome/jim/Mim/moth.html [Accessed 8 Mar. 2015].

Searcy, W. and Nowicki, S. (2005). The evolution of animal communication. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Society, N. (2015). Anglerfish, Anglerfish Pictures, Anglerfish Facts - National Geographic. [online] National Geographic. Available at: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/fish/anglerfish/ [Accessed 8 Mar. 2015].