Schönrogge K, Wardlaw J C, Peters A J, Everett S, Thomas J A, Elmes G W
Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Winfrith Technology Centre, Dorchester DT2 8ZD, United Kingdom.
J Chem Ecol. 2004 Jan;30(1):91-107. doi: 10.1023/b:joec.0000013184.18176.a9.
The ant social parasite, Maculinea rebeli shows high levels of host specificity at a regional scale. While 68-88% of caterpillars in the field are adopted by nonhost Myrmica ants, 95-100% of the butterflies emerge from the natural host M. schencki the following year. While retrieval of preadoption caterpillars is specific to the genus Myrmica, it does not explain differential survival with different Myrmica species. We present survival data with host and nonhost Myrmica species suggesting that, with nonhosts (M. sabuleti and M. rubra), survival depends on the physiological state of the colony. We also compared the similarities of the epicuticular surface hydrocarbon signatures of caterpillars that were reared by host and nonhost Myrmica for 3 weeks with those from tending workers. Counterintuitively, the hydrocarbons of postadoption caterpillars were more similar (78%, 73%) to the ant colony profiles of the nonhost species than were caterpillars reared in colonies of M. schencki (42% similarity). However, caterpillars from M. schencki nests that were then isolated for 4 additional days showed unchanged chemical profiles, whereas the similarities of those from nonhost colonies fell to 52 and 56%, respectively. Six compounds, presumably newly synthesized, were detected on the isolated caterpillars that could not have been acquired from M. sabuleti and M. rubra (nor occurred on preadoption caterpillars), five of which were found on the natural host M. schencki. These new compounds may relate to the high rank the caterpillars attain within the hierarchy of M. schencki societies. The same compounds would identify the caterpillars as intruders in non-schencki colonies, where their synthesis appeared to be largely suppressed. The ability to synthesize or suppress additional compounds once adopted explains the pattern of mortalities found among fully integrated caterpillars in Myrmica colonies of different species and physiological states.
蚂蚁社会寄生虫红珠灰蝶（Maculinea rebeli）在区域尺度上表现出高度的宿主特异性。虽然野外68 - 88%的毛虫被非宿主蚁属（Myrmica）蚂蚁收养，但次年95 - 100%的蝴蝶从天然宿主申氏蚁（M. schencki）中羽化而出。虽然收养前毛虫的找回行为是蚁属特有的，但这并不能解释不同蚁属物种间的生存差异。我们给出了宿主和非宿主蚁属物种的生存数据，表明对于非宿主（沙地蚁M. sabuleti和红蚁M. rubra）而言，毛虫的生存取决于蚁群的生理状态。我们还比较了由宿主和非宿主蚁属饲养3周的毛虫表皮表面碳氢化合物特征与抚育工蚁的相似性。与直觉相反的是，被收养后毛虫的碳氢化合物与非宿主物种蚁群特征的相似度（分别为78%、73%）高于在申氏蚁蚁群中饲养的毛虫（相似度为42%）。然而，来自申氏蚁巢穴的毛虫在额外隔离4天后化学特征未变，而来自非宿主蚁群的毛虫相似度分别降至52%和56%。在隔离的毛虫身上检测到六种可能是新合成的化合物，这些化合物不可能从沙地蚁和红蚁那里获得（收养前的毛虫身上也没有），其中五种在天然宿主申氏蚁身上被发现。这些新化合物可能与毛虫在申氏蚁社会等级体系中获得的高地位有关。同样的化合物会将毛虫识别为非申氏蚁蚁群中的入侵者，在那里它们的合成似乎受到很大抑制。一旦被收养后合成或抑制其他化合物的能力解释了在不同物种和生理状态的蚁属蚁群中完全融入的毛虫间的死亡模式。
