Leaf beetles are ant-nest beetles: the curious life of the juvenile stages of case-bearers (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Cryptocephalinae)

ZooKeys
Federico A AgrainMatthias Schöller

Abstract

Although some species of Cryptocephalinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) have been documented with ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for almost 200 years, information on this association is fragmentary. This contribution synthesizes extant literature and analysizes the data for biological patterns. Myrmecophily is more common in the tribe Clytrini than in Cryptocephalini, but not documented for Fulcidacini or the closely-related Lamprosomatinae. Myrmecophilous cryptocephalines (34 species in 14 genera) primarily live among formicine and myrmecines ants as hosts. These two ant lineages are putative sister-groups, with their root-node dated to between 77-90 mya. In the New World tropics, the relatively recent radiation of ants from moist forests to more xeric ecosystems might have propelled the association of cryptocephalines and ant nests. Literature records suggest that the defensive behavioral profile or chemical profile (or both) of these ants has been exploited by cryptocephalines. Another pattern appears to be that specialized natural enemies, especially parasitoid Hymenoptera, exploit cryptocephaline beetles inside the ant nests. With the extant data at hand, based on the minimum age of a fossil larva dated to 45 mya, we can inf...Continue Reading

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Citations

Jan 27, 2017·PloS One·Jiří SkuhrovecAndrea di Giulio
Dec 2, 2017·Mitochondrial DNA. Part A. DNA Mapping, Sequencing, and Analysis·Nan SongJian Yin
Jul 22, 2020·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Thomas ParmentierDries Bonte

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
scanning electron microscopy

Software Mentioned

CombineZP

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