Adetomyrma
is an unusual amblyoponine genus known only from Madagascar, where it was first discovered in the 1990s. The genus contains several poorly-known species of small, blind subterranean ants; all are likely predators of soil-dwelling arthropods. Adetomyrma is sometimes called "the dracula ant" for its habit of feeding on the hemolymph of its own larvae, although this trait is also shared among the other amblyoponines.
A feeding frenzy in an Adetomyrma goblin colony. A paradox of ant biology is that adult ants cannot consume solid food, while the larvae can. Larvae are essential for colony nutrition, more than just future adults, digesting proteinaceous food and passing it on in liquid form to the adults.
Most ant species have evolved a simple mechanism for the transfer of liquid food by regurgitation (trophallaxis), but a few truly ancient lineages of ants, including the Adetomyrma pictured here, predate trophallaxis. Instead, the adults chew holes in the larval skins and drink the hemolymph directly. Larvae are apparently unharmed by the procedure, although the practice has earned these insects the common name "dracula ants".
Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences
A feeding frenzy in an Adetomyrma goblin colony. A paradox of ant biology is that adult ants cannot consume solid food, while the larvae can. Larvae are essential for colony nutrition, more than just future adults, digesting proteinaceous food and passing it on in liquid form to the adults.
Most ant species have evolved a simple mechanism for the transfer of liquid food by regurgitation (trophallaxis), but a few truly ancient lineages of ants, including the Adetomyrma pictured here, predate trophallaxis. Instead, the adults chew holes in the larval skins and drink the hemolymph directly. Larvae are apparently unharmed by the procedure, although the practice has earned these insects the common name "dracula ants".
Madagascar; captive lab colony photographed at the California Academy of Sciences
Canon EOS 20D |
Original size: 3504x2332 |
Current: 800x533 |
