A fascinating examination of socially parasitic invaders, from
butterflies to bacteria, that survive and thrive by exploiting the
communication systems of ant colonies.
Down below, on sidewalks, in fallen leaves, and across the forest floor,
a covert invasion is taking place. Ant colonies, revered and studied for
their complex collective behaviors, are being infiltrated by tiny
organisms called myrmecophiles. Using incredibly sophisticated tactics,
various species of butterflies, beetles, crickets, spiders, fungi, and
bacteria insert themselves into ant colonies and decode the colonies'
communication system. Once able to "speak the language," these outsiders
can masquerade as ants. Suddenly colony members can no longer
distinguish friend from foe.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and biologist Bert Hölldobler and
behavioral ecologist Christina L. Kwapich explore this remarkable
phenomenon, showing how myrmecophiles manage their feat of code-breaking
and go on to exploit colony resources. Some myrmecophiles slip
themselves into their hosts' food sharing system, stealing liquid
nutrition normally exchanged between ant nestmates. Other intruders use
specialized organs and glandular secretions to entice ants or calm their
aggression. Guiding readers through key experiments and observations,
Hölldobler and Kwapich reveal a universe of behavioral mechanisms by
which myrmecophiles turn ants into unwilling servants.
As The Guests of Ants makes clear, symbiosis in ant societies can
sometimes be mutualistic, but, in most cases, these foreign intruders
exhibit amazingly diverse modes of parasitism. Like other unwelcome
guests, many of these myrmecophiles both disrupt and depend on their
host, making for an uneasy coexistence that nonetheless plays an
important role in the balance of nature.
