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Attaphila
This myrmecophilous genus of cockroaches, belonging to the family Ectobiidae, is restricted to leaf-cutter ants as hosts. Attaphila cockroaches are known to ride on workers within the ant nest. Attaphila are only known from nests of leaf-cutting ants (Atta, Acromyrmex, Amoimyrmex), with one questionable exception, an undetermined Attaphila individual briefly spotted in the nest of an undetermined Trachymyrmex species (VN personal observation). It is noteworthy that Attaphila individuals were also observed to follow trails of Trachymyrmex.
The antennae of Attaphila show several special characteristics not known from any other Blattodea: (1) their shortness, scarcely reaching half of the length of the body (also typical for termites), in combination with a low number of flagellomeres not surpassing 11; (2) their insertion at the bottom of a rather deep funnel-shaped pit; (3) the dorsal membranous excavation at the apical end of the scapus, which allows a rectangular bend between scapus and pedicellus; (4) the unusual size relations of the flagellomeres along the longitudinal axis.
List of Attaphila Species and their Host Ants
| Genus and species | Author and Year | Ant Host | Distribution | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attaphila aptera | Bolivar, 1905 | Acromyrmex octospinosus, Acromyrmex echinatior | Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Suriname | |
| Attaphila bergi | Bolivar, 1901 | Acromyrmex lundii, Amoimyrmex silvestrii | Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay | |
| Attaphila flava | Gurney, 1937 | Atta cephalotes? | Belize, British Honduras, Mexico | |
| Attaphila fungicola | Wheeler, 1900 | Atta texana | Colombia, Panama, Guyana, Trinidad, United States | |
| Attaphila multisetosa | Bohn and Klass, 2021 | Atta | Suriname | |
| Attaphila paucisetosa | Bohn and Klass, 2021 | Atta colombica, Atta cephalotes | Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama , Peru | |
| Attaphila schuppi | Bolivar, 1905 | Acromyrmex niger | Brazil | |
| Attaphila sexdentis | Bolivar, 1905 | Atta sexdens | Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Uruguay | |
| Attaphila sinuosocarinata | Bohn and Klass, 2021 | ant host unknown | Brazil |
REFERENCES
- Bolívar I (1901) Un nuevo ortóptero mirmecófilo Attaphila Bergi. Comunicaciones del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires 1(10): 331–336.
- Bolívar I (1905) Les blattes myrmécophiles. Mitteilungen der Schweizer Entomologischen Gesellschaft 11 (1903–1905): 134–141.
- Gurney AB (1937) Studies in certain genera of American Blattidae (Orthoptera). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 39(5): 101–112.
- Moser JC (1964) Inquiline roach responds to trail-marking substance of leaf-cutting ants. – Science N.S. 143 Nr. 3610: 1048–1049.https://doi.org/10.1126/science.143.3610.1048
- Nehring, V., F. R. Dani, L. Calamai, S. Turillazzi, H. Bohn, K.-D. Klass, and P. d’Ettorre. 2016. Chemical disguise of myrmecophilous cockroaches and its implications for understanding nestmate recognition mechanisms in leaf-cutting ants. BMC Ecology 16:35
- Phillips, Z. I. 2021. Emigrating together but not establishing together: A cockroach rides ants and leaves. The American Naturalist, 197, 138–145.
- Waller DA, Moser JC (1990) Invertebrate enemies and nest associates of the leaf-cutting ant Atta texana (Buckley) (Formicudae, Attini). In: Cedeno C (Ed.) Applied Myrmecology, a World Perspective. Westview Press, Boulder (Colorado) and Oxford, 256–273.