A mermithergate is an
ant worker that has a changed appearance as a result of an
Enoplia
The Enoplia are a subclass of nematodes in the class Enoplea.
Description
Enoplians are characterized by amphids shaped like ovals, stirrups, or pouches. Their bodies are smooth, without rings or lines. The esophagus is cylindrical and glan ...
nematode
infection
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable d ...
.
Etymology
The word was coined by
William M. Wheeler in 1910. It is a combination of the
nematode genus ''
Mermis'', for which Wheeler first described the phenomenon, and
ergate
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,00 ...
, which means ant worker. Infected females (queens) are called
mermithogynes.
Infection cycle
Up to 5% of some populations of ''
Cephalotes atratus'' suffer from an
infection
An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable d ...
by the
tetradonematid nematode ''
Myrmeconema neotropicum''. It causes the ant's
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the tors ...
to turn from black to bright red, strikingly resembling a red berry. In addition, the ant then holds it up most of the time, and it is easily ripped off. Birds easily mistake these for real fruit and pick them, while they avoid eating normal ants. The nematodes pass through the bird's digestive system as eggs without harming it. The circle closes when ''C. atratus'' workers feed on the bird droppings, thus getting infected.
[University of California]
Ant parasite turns host into ripe red berry, biologists discover
— Retrieved on 2008-01-20.
See also
*
Gamergate (type of ant)
*
Honeypot ant
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Wheeler, W.M. (1901): The parasitic origin of macroërgates among ants. ''American Naturalist'' 35: 877–886
PDF* Wheeler, W.M. (1928): ''Mermis'' parasitism and intercastes among ants. ''Journal of Experimental Zoology'' 50: 165–237
PDF
External links
* Dale Ward
Parasitism
Ants
Enoplia