Allomerus decemarticulatus

Taxobox | name = "Allomerus decemarticulatus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Hymenoptera
familia = Formicidae
genus = "Allomerus"
species = "A. decemarticulatus"
binomial = "Allomerus decemarticulatus"
binomial_authority = Mayr, 1878

"Allomerus decemarticulatus" is a species of ant that is notable for its tripartite symbiosis with its host plant and a fungus, which it uses to ambush much larger prey such as locusts.

Writing in "Nature", entomologist Alain Dejean and coworkers describe how the ants take hair from the host plant ("Hirtella physophora") and bind it together with a purpose-grown fungal mycelium (a complex of sooty mould species). They do this in order to make a galleried platform for trapping larger insects and thus supplement their intake of fixed nitrogen.

The ants immobilize their prey by hiding in holes in the platform, with their mandibles open, waiting for an insect to land. To trap the insect, the ants grasp any free appendage (legs, antennae, or wings) and moved in and out of the holes, thereby stretching the insect. They will then sting it as much as needed to either kill or completely paralyze it. Then, depending on its size, they will either dismember it on site and carry the parts back to the nest or dismember it after having taken it back to the nest.

External links

* [http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/050420_ant_trap.html Amazing Ants Ambush Prey from Foxholes, LiveScience.com]
*cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4472521.stm |title=Fierce ants build 'torture rack' |publisher=BBC News |date=2005-04-23