Myrmecia gulosa

Myrmecia gulosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmeciinae
Tribe:	Myrmeciini
Genus:	Myrmecia
Species:	M. gulosa
Binomial name
Myrmecia gulosa (Fabricius, 1775) Specimen Label
Synonyms
Myrmecia gulosa obscurior Forel, 1922

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Australian Myrmecia Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Biology

Colonies are monogynous and consist of 992 ± 551 workers, mean ± SD (Dietemann et al. 2002).

There is no trophallaxis but workers lay trophic eggs (non viable yolk sacs), which constitute the main channel of food exchange in the colony. Queens regularly walk through the nest chambers but they are not aggressive toward workers (Dietemann et al. 2005a). Regulation of worker reproduction is based on Cuticular Hydrocarbons (Dietemann et al. 2003) together with worker policing (Dietemann et al. 2005b).

Association with Other Organisms

This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Austeucharis fasciiventris (a parasite) (Universal Chalcidoidea Database) (primary host).

Life History Traits

• Mean colony size: 900 (Haskins & Haskins, 1950; Robertson, 1971; Beckers et al., 1989)
• Foraging behaviour: solitary forager (Haskins & Haskins, 1950; Robertson, 1971; Beckers et al., 1989)

Castes

Worker size varies over a wide range (14 – 23 mm), exhibiting a bimodal distribution. M. gulosa queens are only slightly bigger than large workers, but have many more ovarioles (44 compared to 8–14 in workers; Dietemann et al. 2002).

Retinue involving large and small workers around the fertile queen. Photo by Vincent Dietemann.

Ovaries of a queen, large worker and small worker. Note differences in the number of ovarioles. Photo by Vincent Dietemann.

• The following images are provided by AntWeb
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  Head view

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  Side view

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  Top view

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  Specimen labels

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• gulosa. Formica gulosa Fabricius, 1775: 395 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Smith, 1858b: 143 (m.); Mayr, 1876: 95 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971d: 246 (l.); Imai, Crozier & Taylor, 1977: 345 (k.). Combination in Myrmecia: Fabricius, 1804: 424. Senior synonym of obscurior: Clark, 1951: 49. See also: Ogata, 1991a: 358.
• obscurior. Myrmecia gulosa var. obscurior Forel, 1922: 87 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of gulosa: Clark, 1951: 49.

Type Material

• Myrmecia gulosa: Syntype, worker(s), Australia, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Formica gulosa: Holotype, worker, Australia (as New Holland), Australia, The Natural History Museum.

Description

Karyotype

• 2n = 38 (Australia) (Imai et al., 1977; Meyne et al., 1995; Hirai et al., 1996).

References

• Adams, R.M.M., Wells, R.L., Yanoviak, S.P., Frost, C.J., Fox, E.G.P. 2020. Interspecific Eavesdropping on Ant Chemical Communication. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8. (doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.00024).
• Beckers R., Goss, S., Deneubourg, J.L., Pasteels, J.M. 1989. Colony size, communication and ant foraging Strategy. Psyche 96: 239-256 (doi:10.1155/1989/94279).
• Clark, J. 1951. The Formicidae of Australia. 1. Subfamily Myrmeciinae: 230 pp. CSIRO, Melbourne. [(31.xii).1951.]
• Cuvillier-Hot, V., Lenoir, A., Peeters, C. 2004. Reproductive monopoly enforced by sterile police workers in a queenless ant. Behavioral Ecology 15, 970–975 (doi:10.1093/beheco/arh072).
• Dietemann, V., C. Peeters, J. Liebig, V. Thivet & B. Hölldobler 2003. Cuticular hydrocarbons mediate discrimination of reproductives and nonreproductives in the ant Myrmecia gulosa. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 100: 10341-46.
• Dietemann, V., C. Peeters & B. Hölldobler 2005a. Role of the queen in regulating reproduction in the bulldog ant Myrmecia gulosa: control or signalling? Anim. Behav. 69: 777-784.
• Dietemann, V., J. Liebig, B. Hölldobler & C. Peeters 2005b. Changes in the cuticular hydrocarbons of incipient reproductives correlate with triggering of worker policing in the bulldog ant Myrmecia gulosa. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 58: 486-496.
• Dietemann, V.; Hölldobler, B.; Peeters, C. 2002. Caste specialization and differentiation in reproductive potential in the phylogenetically primitive ant Myrmecia gulosa. Insectes Soc 49: 289-298.
• Fabricius, J. C. 1775. Systema entomologiae, sistens insectorum classes, ordines, genera, species adiectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibus, observationibus. Flensburgi et Lipsiae [= Flensburg and Leipzig]: Korte, 832 pp. (page 395, worker described)
• Fabricius, J. C. 1804. Systema Piezatorum secundum ordines, genera, species, adjectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. Brunswick: C. Reichard, xiv + 15-439 + 30 pp. (page 424, Combination in Myrmecia)
• Imai, H. T.; Crozier, R. H.; Taylor, R. W. 1977. Karyotype evolution in Australian ants. Chromosoma (Berl.) 59: 341-393 (page 345, karyotype described)
• Mayr, G. 1876. Die australischen Formiciden. J. Mus. Godeffroy 12: 56-115 (page 95, queen described)
• Narendra, A., Alkaladi, A., Raderschall, C.A., Robson, S.K.A., Ribi, W.A. 2013. Compound eye adaptations for diurnal and nocturnal lifestyle in the intertidal ant, Polyrhachis sokolova. PLoS ONE 8, e76015 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076015).
• Ogata, K. 1991a. Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: a review of the species groups and their phylogenetic relationships (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). Syst. Entomol. 16: 353-381 (page 358, see also)
• Robinson, S.D., Mueller, A. et al. 2018. A comprehensive portrait of the venom of the giant red bull ant, Myrmecia gulosa, reveals a hyperdiverse hymenopteran toxin gene family. Science Advances 4: eaau4640.
• Smith, F. 1858a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 143, male described)
• van der Kooi, C.J., Stavenga, D.G., Arikawa, K., Belušič, G., Kelber, A. 2020. Evolution of insect color vision: From spectral sensitivity to visual ecology. Annual Review of Entomology 66, annurev-ento-061720–071644. (doi:10.1146/annurev-ento-061720-071644).
• Via, S.E. 1977. Visually Mediated Snapping in the Bulldog Ant: A Perceptual Ambiguity between Size and Distance. Journal of Comparative Physiology A, 121: 33-51.
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1971d. Ant larvae of the subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pan-Pac. Entomol. 47: 245-256 (page 246, larva described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia (continuazione e fine)." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 5, no. 25 (1887): 427-473.
• Imai H. T., R. H. Crozier, and R. W. Taylor. 1977. Karyotype evolution in Australian ants. Chromosoma 59: 341-393.