TITLE:
Argentine Ant Affects Ant-Mimetic Arthropods: Does Argentine Ant Invasion Conserve Colouring Variation of Myrmecomorphic Jumping Spider?
AUTHORS:
Yoshifumi Touyama, Fuminori Ito
KEYWORDS:
Batesian Mimicry, Biological Invasion, Linepithema humile, Myrmecomorphy, Myrmarachne, Polymorphism
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.4 No.3,
June
27,
2014
ABSTRACT: Argentine ant invasion changed colour-polymorphic composition of ant-mimetic jumping spider Myrmarachne in southwestern Japan. In Argentine ant-free sites, most of Myrmarachne exhibited all-blackish colouration. In Argentine ant-infested sites, on the other hand, blackish morph decreased, and bicoloured (i.e. partly bright-coloured) morphs increased in dominance. Invasive Argentine ant drives away native blackish ants. Disappearance of blackish model ants supposedly led to malfunction of Batesian mimicry of Myrmarachne.