Eciton burchellii
| Eciton burchellii | |
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| Specimen soldier of Eciton burchellii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Ecitoninae |
| Tribe: | Ecitonini |
| Genus: | Eciton |
| Species: | E. burchellii |
| Binomial name | |
| Eciton burchellii Westwood, 1842 |
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| Subspecies[1] | |
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Eciton burchellii burchellii |
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Eciton burchellii is the predominant species of the genus Eciton and a type of New World army ant. Distinct in its expansive, highly organized swarm raids, it is often considered the archetypal species of "army ant" — so much that the term has become its common name — and remains one of the most heavily investigated of all ant species.
Like most ant species, they are polymorphic, meaning that individuals vary in size: a colony contains workers ranging from 3 mm to 12 mm, with each specific "caste" suited to specialized tasks. Like other species of Eciton, E. burchellii features a highly modified soldier caste bearing long, pointed, characteristically falcate (sickle-shaped) mandibles. Their long legs and elongated body lend them a spider-like appearance. Color varies from deep golden to dark brown. Workers possess single-faceted compound eyes, double-segmented waists, a well-developed sting, and specialized tarsal hooks on their feet with which they cling to one another to form bridges and bivouacs.
Colonies may be quite large, accommodating as many as 100,000 to 2,000,000 adult individuals. Each colony consists of a single queen, a brood of developing young, and a majority of adult workers.
Members of the species have been observed using their bodies to block potholes in a path between the nest and prey. The ants will each walk to a hole and measure themselves to see if they are a fit for it and if they are, will lie across the hole to allow other members of the colony to cross at higher speed. If they do not fit, they will continue past the hole and allow another ant to check. Once in place in a hole the ant can stay there for many hours, until it is dark and the traffic flow has diminished greatly, at which point they will return to the nest.[2]
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[edit] Taxonomy
The species was referred to as Eciton burchellii in the original publication. The double i was subsequently deemed unnecessary in the later 1800s by taxonomists, and hence the name became Eciton burchelli. Recent taxonomic rules, however, adhere more strictly to the original form[3]; the name Eciton burchelli is now largely regarded as invalid.[4]
[edit] Associated species
A total of 557 different species of animal have been found to associate in some way with E. burchellii, the greatest number known for any individual species. An even larger number of species have been recorded living with the ants, but have not yet been identified. Although some of the associations are likely to be opportunistic, around 300 of the species are thought to be reliant on E. burchellii in some form to survive.[5] The species is commonly attended by "ant following" birds such as antbirds and woodcreepers. Insects and other arthropods attempting to escape from E. burchellii are flushed into the attending flocks, and a number of species have evolved behavior to obtain most of their food by following swarms.[6] Butterflies are then attracted to the droppings of the birds following the ants, which they drink from. Stylogaster and Calodexia flies are abundant around raiding parties, laying eggs (or injecting larvae) on fleeing cockroaches; of the cockroaches that escape the ants, 50-90% are parasitised by the flies. Many mites live in the bivouacs and ant columns, on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, 4% of the worker ants had mites on them with the Scutacaridae and Pygmephoridae families being the most abundant. Beetles which mimic the ants can be found in the bivouac and in columns.[5] The mites are mainly thought to be harmless to the ants, being symbionts rather than parasites.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ "Eciton burchellii". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=575287. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
- ^ 'Living Plugs' Smooth Ant Journey - BBC News, 26 May 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2007
- ^ Longino, John T. (2005-07-16). "Formicidae: Eciton parvispinum". The Evergreen State College. http://www.evergreen.edu/Ants/Genera/eciton/species/parvispinum/parvispinum.html. Retrieved 2007-02-10.
- ^ Agosti, D., and N. F. Johnson. Editors. 2005. Antbase. World Wide Web electronic publication. antbase.org, version (05/2005). Hymenoptera Name Server - Results for the species Eciton Burchelli Antbase Accessed February 2007
- ^ a b Rettenmeyer, C. W.; Rettenmeyer, M. E.; Joseph, J.; Berghoff, S. M. (2010). "The largest animal association centered on one species: The army ant Eciton burchellii and its more than 300 associates". Insectes Sociaux 58 (3): 281. doi:10.1007/s00040-010-0128-8.
- ^ Willis, E. O.; Oniki, Y. (1978). "Birds and Army Ants". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 9: 243–263. doi:10.1146/annurev.es.09.110178.001331. JSTOR 2096750.
- ^ Berghoff, S. M.; Wurst, E.; Ebermann, E.; Sendova-Franks, A. A. B.; Rettenmeyer, C. W.; Franks, N. R. (2009). "Symbionts of societies that fission: Mites as guests or parasites of army ants". Ecological Entomology 34 (6): 684. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.2009.01125.x.
- Diamond, Sara (2005). "Eciton burchelli". Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Eciton_burchelli.html. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
- Myers, P.; R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey (2006). "Eciton burchelli (classification)". Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/path/Eciton_burchelli.html#Eciton%20burchelli. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
- Powell, Scott; Nigel R. Franks (22 October 2005). "Caste evolution and ecology: a special worker for novel prey". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (The Royal Society) 272 (1577): 2173–2180. doi:10.1098/rspb.2005.3196. PMC 1559956. PMID 16188606. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1559956.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eciton burchellii |
[edit] External images
In situ
- http://www.armyants.org/armyants/genusfigures/eciton/misc/paraguaypics.html
- http://www.myrmecos.net/ants/eciton.html
Anatomy
- Worker castes
- Major worker: frontal view; lateral view
- Minor worker: frontal view; lateral view
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