We know that Lycaenid butterflies have mutualistic association with ant species. Both of they got the benefit from each other, Larvae got protection and in reverse ants got food (Sugary substance secreted from 7-8 segment of body) from the larval body.b Both larvae and ants are species specific. But how they recognize each other, when it was seen firstly ? Why other families larvae have not this type of association? Is there any Natural evoluttion behind this? Please reply.
Une équipe de chercheurs italiens et britanniques a découvert que les reines des colonies de fourmis émettent des sons particuliers. Encore plus intéressant, une chenille de papillon parvient à tromper les ouvrières en imitant les sons émis par la reine.
see: cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/30503.fr.html
Here is a translation of the above.
"A team of Italian and British researchers discovered that the queen ant colonies emit specific sounds . More interestingly, a butterfly caterpillar gets in the working imitating the sounds made by the queen.
see : cordis.europa.eu/news/rcn/30503.fr.html"
I had read that it is pheromone related. Is there more than one mechanism at play in the mutualistic relationship?
On the subject of 'when it was seen firstlt' may be you can find something in the review by Konrad Fiedler (1991), there are other references in hius page:
http://www.univie.ac.at/population-ecology/people/kf/kfpublications1.html
The process of recognition between ants and lycaenids occurs by chemical signals (primarily hydrocarbons). Hydrocarbons synthesised by the caterpillars more closely resemble the recognition profile of their host ant than other species. Much work has been done on the subject especially in relation to Maculinea butterflies and Myrmica ants. You would do well to look up publications by these scientists first: Jeremy Thomas, Graham Elmes, David Nash and Toshiharu Akino, and then explore from there.
Close relationships between ants and butterfly larvae are almost restricted to the blues family (Lycaenidae). The pattern of the interaction varies widely from mutualism (temporary or obligate) to parasitism in favor of butterflies so that we need a big book only for this topic. Generally butterfly larvae get much more from ants than the benefits to ants. In some species butterfly larvae transported to host ant nests eat food transported there by ants and sometimes even ant larvae, while ants get sugars from butterfly larvae. Butterfly larvae can avoid attacks by ants in ant nests by offering limited amount of sugar to ants, or by chemically mimicking the ant odor, decieving ant workers.
From today´s The Scientist:
Some caterpillars that parasitize ant colonies coax worker ants to feed them by mimicking the sounds made by queen ants. Researchers from the University of Turin in Italy presented their discovery, based on close observations and acoustic experiments, at a meeting of the Acoustical Society of America in Indianapolis last month (October 29).
The same team previously showed that queen and worker Myrmica ants produce distinct sounds, and that parasitic Maculinea butterfly larvae entice worker ants to feed them using chemical cues. In the present study, they found similar sound patterns between the ants and Maculinea caterpillars. In particular, some caterpillars made sounds resembling those made by queen ants, giving the caterpillars priority feeding status within the ant colony.
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/41414/title/Behavior-Brief/
See also
DeVries P. J., 1991. Call production by myrmecophilous riodinid and lycaenid butterfly caterpillars (Lepidoptera): morphological, acoustical, functional, and evolutionary patterns. Am. Mus. Novit. 3025: 1–23.
Barbero F., Thomas J. A., Bonelli S., Balletto E., Schönrogge, K., 2009a. Queen ants make distinctive sounds that are mimicked by a butterfly social parasite. Science 323: 782–785.
Barbero F., Thomas, J. A., Bonelli S., Balletto E., Schönrogge K., 2009b. Acoustical mimicry in a predatory social parasite of ants. J. Exp. Biol. 212: 4084–4090.
Thomas J. A., Schönrogge K., Bonelli S., Barbero F., Balletto E., 2010. Corruption of ant acoustical signals by mimetic social parasites. Commun. Integr. Biol. 3: 169–171.
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