title: A cuckoo-like parasitic moth leads African weaver ant colonies to their ruin.
abstract: In myrmecophilous Lepidoptera, mostly lycaenids and riodinids, caterpillars trick ants into transporting them to the ant nest where they feed on the brood or, in the more derived "cuckoo strategy", trigger regurgitations (trophallaxis) from the ants and obtain trophic eggs. We show for the first time that the caterpillars of a moth (Eublemma albifascia; Noctuidae; Acontiinae) also use this strategy to obtain regurgitations and trophic eggs from ants (Oecophylla longinoda). Females short-circuit the adoption process by laying eggs directly on the ant nests, and workers carry just-hatched caterpillars inside. Parasitized colonies sheltered 44 to 359 caterpillars, each receiving more trophallaxis and trophic eggs than control queens. The thus-starved queens lose weight, stop laying eggs (which transport the pheromones that induce infertility in the workers) and die. Consequently, the workers lay male-destined eggs before and after the queen's death, allowing the colony to invest its remaining resources in male production before it vanishes.
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, UPS, INP, Laboratoire Écologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France.|CNRS, UMR EcoLab, 31062 Toulouse, France.|CNRS, UMR Ecologie de Forêts de Guyane (AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles), Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379 Kourou cedex, France.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dejean
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR Ecologie de Forêts de Guyane (AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles), Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379 Kourou cedex, France.
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Orivel
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse, UPS, INP, Laboratoire Écologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France.|CNRS, UMR EcoLab, 31062 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Azémar
authors.affiliation: CIRAD, UMR Ecologie de Forêts de Guyane (AgroParisTech, CIRAD, CNRS, INRA, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles), Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379 Kourou cedex, France.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hérault
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR Laboratoire Microorganismes, Génome et Environnement, Université Blaise Pascal, Complexe Scientifique des Cézeaux, 63177 Aubière cedex, France.|Université Clermont Auvergne, Université Blaise Pascal (LMGE), 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Corbara
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000502:physiology; D002163:Cameroon; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005681:Gabon; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009036:Moths / Q000502:physiology*; D009425:Nesting Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D010063:Ovum / Q000502:physiology; D010271:Parasites / Q000502:physiology; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology