''Azteca alfari'' is a species of

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

in the genus '' Azteca''. Described by

Carlo Emery Carlo Emery (25 October 1848, Naples – 11 May 1925) was an Italian entomologist. He is remembered for Emery's rule, which states that insect social parasitism (biology), social parasites are often closely related to their hosts. Early in hi ...

in 1893, the species is widespread in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. This ant has a mutualistic relationship with a ''

Cecropia ''Cecropia'' is a Neotropical genus consisting of 61 recognized species with a highly distinctive lineage of dioecious trees. The genus consists of pioneer trees in the more or less humid parts of the Neotropics, with the majority of the speci ...

'' tree. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''alfari'' honours a

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Anastasio Alfaro Anastasio Alfaro (February 16, 1865 – January 20, 1951) was a Costa Rican zoologist, geologist and explorer. Alfaro was director of the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, National Museum of Costa Rica, and whilst holding this position arranged the ...

Distribution and habitat

''Azteca alfari'' is native to the tropical and subtropical Neotropics. Its range extends from Mexico to Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina. It is an obligatory

symbiont Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...

of evergreen trees in the genus ''

'', forming colonies in the hollow stems. These trees grow in moist lowland

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

, riparian forest,

Cerrado The Cerrado () is a vast ecoregion of Tropics, tropical savanna in central Brazil, being present in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Maranhão, Piauí, Bahia, Minas Gerais, São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Paraná ...

, forest clearings and secondary forest.

Ecology

A founding queen of ''Azteca alfari'' establishes a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

in a young ''Cecropia'' sapling, typically '' Cecropia pachystachya'', having chewed her way inside a young, hollow shoot. The tree provides nourishment for the ants in the form of Müllerian bodies, glandular areas on the leaf stalks that produce oily secretions, nectar from the female flowers and

pearl bodies Pearl bodies are small (0.5 - 3.0 mm), lustrous, pearl-like food bodies produced from the epidermis of leaves, petioles and shoots of certain plants. They are rich in lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, and are sought after by various arthrop ...

on the surfaces of the leaves. As the tree grows, and the colony enlarges, more of the hollow branches and twigs are occupied by the ants, but the central trunk and larger branches are progressively abandoned. Some of the ant larvae develop into reproductives, which remain in the colony and start to breed, while others become workers. When the colony is small, the workers are very aggressive, protecting the tree and attacking intruders, but as the colony expands, the ants are more likely to retreat into their

domatia A domatium (plural: domatia, from the Latin "domus", meaning home) is a tiny chamber that houses arthropods, produced by a plant. Ideally domatia differ from galls in that they are produced by the plant rather than being induced by their inhabi ...

when disturbed. Because of this, older ''Cecropia'' trees often have dilapidated foliage, are infested with other insects and foraging ants of other species, and have vines growing over them. However, if a branch of the tree is broken off, the ants still rush fiercely out from their domatia to defend the tree.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13432829 alfari Hymenoptera of North America Hymenoptera of South America Insects described in 1893 Taxa named by Carlo Emery