寄生性蝶種擬態了螞蟻女王的特殊聲音

Queen Ants Make Distinctive Sounds That Are Mimicked by a Butterfly Social Parasite Science 323:782-785 (2009)

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Francesca Barbero,1,2 Jeremy A Thomas,2,3* Simona Bonelli,1 Emilio Balletto,1 Karsten Schönrogge3

1Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell´Uomo Laboratorio di Zoologia, Turin, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Turin, Italy. 2Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford,Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK. 3Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Tinbergen Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.

*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: jeremy.thomas@zoo.ox.ac.uk

螞蟻透過由高度發展的溝通系統所維持的複雜社會組織主導著陸域生態系統，聲學在資訊交換上所扮演的腳色或許被低估了。作者展示了Myrmica schencki 的女王發出會引起工蟻善意回應的特殊聲音,，以鞏固其崇高的社會地位。儘管擁有工蟻兇殘的防衛，螞蟻社會仍會被特定的昆蟲滲入且被剝削資源。寄生性蝶種Maculinea rebeli 的幼蟲與蛹所發出的聲音較像女王而不像工蟻，因此可以提升在螞蟻社會中的地位。作者認為聲音擬態為大約一萬種欺騙螞蟻社會的寄生性物種提供另一條滲透途徑。

ABSTRACT
Ants dominate terrestrial ecosystems through living in complex societies whose organization is maintained via sophisticated communication systems. The role of acoustics in information exchange may be underestimated. We show that Myrmica schencki queens generate distinctive sounds that elicit increased benevolent responses from workers, reinforcing their supreme social status. Although fiercely defended by workers, ant societies are infiltrated by specialist insects that exploit their resources. Sounds produced by pupae and larvae of the parasitic butterfly Maculinea rebeli mimic those of queen ants more closely than those of workers, enabling them to achieve high status within ant societies. We conclude that acoustical mimicry provides another route for infiltration for ~10,000 species of social parasites that cheat ant societies.

相關報導與參考:

sciencenews: Caterpillar noise tricks ants into service (此報導底下附有幼蟲與蛹發出的ㄎㄎ聲音檔案)

NERC - Centre for Ecology & Hydrology: Ant sounds mimicked by invading butterflies

DeVries, P. J. 1991. Detecting and recording the calls produced by butterfly caterpillars and ants. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 28: 258-262.
DeVries, P. J. 1991. Call production by myrmecophilous riodinid and lycaenid butterfly caterpillars (Lepidoptera): morphological, acoustical, functional, and evolutionary patterns. American Museum Novitates 3025: 1-23.
DeVries, P. J. 1992. Singing caterpillars, ants and symbiosis. Scientific American 267: 76-82. (此文章由陳燕玲摘錄翻譯於此)