Ant wasps

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ant wasps
Female of Dasylabris maura

Female of Dasylabris maura

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera)
Subordination : Waist Wasps (Apocrita)
Partial order : Voices (Aculeata)
Superfamily : Vespoidea
Family : Ant wasps
Scientific name
Mutillidae
Latreille , 1802
Subfamilies

Ants wasps (Mutillidae) belong to the insect order of the hymenoptera (Hymenoptera). Within this they are in the superfamily Vespoidea , the fold wasps, in the subordination of the waist wasps (Apocrita). 6000 species have been described worldwide for this family .

The term mutillen for representatives of this family has existed since the middle of the 18th century. Common names common today are also spider ants or bee ants . However, the latter term should only be used for the two native representatives of the genus Mutilla and their close relatives. In order to make it clear that the animals are not ants, the term bee wasps was also proposed for some or all species of ant wasps. As a spider wasps ( "spider wasp"), however, are in English wasps (Pompilidae), respectively.

The animals are "wasps" in the broader sense, but have nothing to do with ants , and certainly nothing to do with spiders . However, a few species parasitize bees or can be found in the nests of ants, but only parasitize certain guests there . The trivial names seem to refer to the appearance, possibly also to the painful sting of the wingless females.

Early descriptions

Probably the first written mention of an ant wasp can be found in the epic Theriaka of Nicandros from Kolophon (approx. 150 BC). According to a translation by Otto Taschenberg it says:

“Well now the Myrmecion, which resembles an ant, red on the neck, the rest of the body is darkly colored, everywhere on its broad back with pits as if with shiny, sparkling dots; the black head rises a little above the neck. It causes the same pain as the previously mentioned bug. "

In 1758 Linnaeus divided all wingless voices (Aculeata) into the genera Formica ( ants ) and Mutilla (from Latin "mútilus": mutilated, trimmed). Apparently he did not know at the time that the males of the ant wasps are almost without exception winged. His first description of the genus Mutilla began with: "Alae nullae in omni sexu." (Without wings in all sexes). A correction was made only in 1767 without further stipulation: "Alae nullae in plerique ..." (mostly without wings). The first surprisingly good observations on the biology of bee ants were made by Johann Ludwig Christ in 1791. He observed the species Mutilla europaea in artificial bumblebee nests and suspected a "brotherly unity" between the individuals of both species. However, this notion needs to be corrected today. When Latreille introduced families into the system in 1802 , he summarized all Mutillen (ant wasps) and the then still species-poor Scolien dagger wasps under "Mutillidae" .

More common names

Some of the other German trivial names for the ant wasps were probably introduced by beekeepers, since representatives of the genus Mutilla were known to be pests of the honeybees until around 1935 (for more details, see bee ants ). However, many of these names are no longer or hardly in use today: bald wasps, song ants, cross ants, deceit ants, beewolves (today this term only refers to digger wasps of the genus Philanthus ), ant spiders, parasite ants or velvet ants. The last term is a translation of the most common and very appropriate English trivial name "velvet ant". In Hungarian there are often names from combinations of the terms wasp (darazsak), ant (hangyák) and spider (pók): pókhangyák, hangyapókok, pókdaraszak and hangyadarazsak. The origin of the Russian name "немка" (German) is largely unclear. The English, French and Spanish trivial names mutillid wasps, mutilles and mutilídos are perfect in the sense of Linnaeus .

Outside of Europe there are other interesting popular names for representatives of the ant wasps, which mostly refer to the extremely painful sting of the females. However, the Texan name "cow-killer" for the Dasymutilla occidentalis species is vastly exaggerated. The same applies to “mule-killer”. Johann Jakob von Tschudi is quoted with the Quechua name "sisi huakan ñahui" for Peru in the 19th century . In Brazil there are many trivial names that also refer to the painful sting, but also to the conspicuous coloring or the sound generation stridulation . The Portuguese name "Formiga-Ferro" (iron ant) ​​gives an indication of the extremely hard outer skeleton ( exoskeleton ). The seemingly disoriented walking around looking for a host certainly led to the name "Formiga-Cera" (blind ant). The belief in special powers that are ascribed to animals, which is particularly pronounced in Brazil, is expressed in “Firmiga-Feiticeira” (magic ant).

The physique of the ant wasps

The females in the family are all wingless. They can be distinguished from almost all other wingless waist wasps in that they usually have elongated pits on the side of the gaster , which are equipped with fine, flat bristles (so-called "felt lines"). These are the exit of exocrine glands of previously unknown function. They are also found in some species of the Bradynobaenidae family . Among the ant wasps, only the species of the subfamilies Myrmosinae, Ticopline and Rhopalomutillinae have no "felt lines". The four segments of the mesosoma of the female ant wasps have grown together to form a solid box without any seam, which also has a very hard exoskeleton .

The males also often have "felt lines".

Exceptional adjustments

Male Dasymutilla gloriosa
Female Dasymutilla gloriosa

A few species of ant wasps are unusually colored or shaped in relation to their relatives. They either mimic other hymenoptera , which are even more defensive in the corresponding habitat, or they camouflage themselves.

The female Dasymutilla gloriosa (thistle-down velvet ant) found in the southwest of the United States mimics the seeds of the creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ), especially when she curls up in danger. In addition, their bristles are completely white and noticeably long in the middle. When the wind is strong enough, the animal is rolled through the desert just like its model. In this way, the wingless female can spread over great distances, saving energy.

The Central American Pappognatha myrmiciformis (Cameron) mimics carpenter ants ( Camponotus ) to succeed. The Stenomutilla eurydice (Péringuey) native to southern Africa looks very similar to another wasp, while other Stenomutilla species look completely "normal".

Imitators

Numerous animal species imitate the shape of ant wasps ( mimicry ) and thus benefit from their ability to defend themselves. Examples:

  • The Asiatic jumping spider of the genus Orsima mimics an ant wasp in shape and color, but "upside down". The head is simulated by the rear part of the spider's abdomen, which is delimited by a waist . The spinnerets at the very end of the spider form the antennae and mouthparts of the model. The spider mimics an ant wasp looking for hosts even in its movements. It also moves its spinnerets accordingly. Other jumping spiders and some diurnal species of the usually nocturnal sac spiders and flat-bellied spiders can also be copied .
  • The larva of the Florida ant maid Brachynemurus nebulosus , a so-called ant lion , imitates some of the Dasymutilla ant wasps in color and behavior .
  • Many beetles, in particular from the family checkered beetles , but also some lycidae and Rove have a the velvet ants very similar color patterns.

Systematics

The ant wasp family includes around 4,300 species from 210 genera described so far. Europe is home to 155 species, which are divided into 29 genera and 6 subfamilies. In Germany nine species occur. The majority of ant wasp species live in the tropics and subtropics . The representatives of the two subfamilies Sphaeropthalminae and Mutillinae are the most species-rich and distributed worldwide. All species in the New World belong exclusively to one of these two subfamilies. Due to the large differences in appearance ( sexual dimorphism ), males and females of many species have separate scientific species names until unequivocal proof of belonging is possible.

The following overview lists the species represented in Europe.

Mutillidae

Mutillinae

Myrmillinae

Myrmosinae

Pseudophotopsidinae

Sphaeropthalminae

Ticoplinae

Ants wasps and humans

Myths

Wherever ant wasps are frequently encountered, they also appear frequently in myths. In a few cases there is a negative meaning. For example, in Sardinia the “valgia” are associated with great misfortune. The Cherokee call the animals "da sün tali atasün ski" (stinging ant), but sometimes also "nün yunú wi" (stone-clad man). The latter is based on a mythical monster from their world of belief and in connection with the extreme hardness of the exoskeleton ( exoskeleton ) of the female ant wasps.

Ants wasps often mean luck. B. the so-called “choura-choura” among the residents of Maputo Bay. In Brazil there are many forms of love spells with the females of the animals. They are carried in boxes or buried by men, alive or dead. Under certain circumstances, they are fed beforehand with the urine or hair of an adored woman (often in connection with honey, which the ant wasps are very happy to accept). This sometimes goes so far that women fear contact with female ant wasps. They believe that they may become psychologically dependent on a man who then catches the insect.

Naturopathy

In Lahore and parts of India , the Mutilla antiguensis found there is used by local healers against snakebites and horse colic. It is reported from Salesópolis in the state of São Paulo that wine mixed with ashes from ant wasps is said to help relieve persistent headaches.

Economic factor in beekeeping

Cases were reported between 1870 and 1935 in which ant wasps caused significant damage to beekeeping. In Europe, this concerned infestations by representatives of the genus Mutilla in mountainous areas in Bohemia , Carinthia , Lower Austria and the Sudetes . Losses by Dasymutilla occidentalis are known from Illinois and Texas . The descriptions of many beekeepers are full of anthropomorphisms (e.g. death by "strangling"). However, R. Jordan 1935 was able to prove for Mutilla europaea that this species can actually develop completely in the combs of honeybees in the absence of its main hosts ( bumblebees ) . It is not known why there have been no further observations of this type since then. It can be assumed that either mass reproductions of the corresponding ant wasps no longer occur or that modern beekeeping prevents the wingless females from entering.

Ant wasps in the service of humans

In the years 1914–1929 three species of ant wasps ( Crestomutilla auxiliaris and glossinae , Smicromyrme benefactrix ) were discovered, which parasitize the barrel pupae of the sleeping sickness- transmitting tsetse fly ( Glossina morsitans ). However, significant gaps in knowledge about the biology of animals have prevented the animals from being used for biological pest control . Another problem is the low reproductive rate of the ant wasps. On the other hand, the higher drought resistance and the larger radius of action would be advantageous compared to other parasitoids .

literature

  • D. Brothers et al .: Associations of mutillid wasps (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae) with eusocial insects. In: Insectes Sociaux. 47, 2000, pp. 201-211. ISSN  0020-1812 ( PDF; 0.1 MB )
  • G. Tschuch: Ant wasps in ethological and applied entomology (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea: Mutillidae). In: Entomologia Generalis. 25 (1), 2000, pp. 67-74. ISSN  0171-8177
  • G. Tschuch: Defense signals in insects using the example of the Mutillidae (Hymenoptera) . Habilitation. Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg 2000, ( PDF; 1.2 MB )

Web links

Commons : Mutillidae  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In Gunther Tschuch's habilitation (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 2000) (PDF; 98 kB), referring to G.-A. Baer: Note sur le venin de diverse Arthropodes du Pérou. Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 9 180-181 (1901) indicated the meaning “ants that make you scream”, but the Quechua words do not make a meaningful connection: sisi means “ant”, waqan “he / she / it weeps ”and ñawi “ eye ”. In Quechua (as in German) the morpheme at the end of compound words is the basic word (determinatum), the preceding defining words (determinantia). For example, sisi ñawi means “ant's eye ”.
  2. ↑ R. Preston-Mafham, K. Preston-Mafham: The encyclopedia of country invertebrate behavior. Blandford, London 1993, ISBN 0-7137-2196-0 .
  3. ^ AP Aguiar et al.: Order Hymenoptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Z.-Q. Zhang (Ed.): Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. In: Zootaxa. 3703, 1, 2013, pp. 1-82.
  4. ↑ a b Mutillidae in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved May 27, 2011