MSGID: 1:317/3 645b1dde   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Kangaroo Island ants 'play dead' to avoid predators    
      
     Date:   
         May 9, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of South Australia   
     Summary:   
         They're well known for their industrious work, but now a species   
         of ant on Kangaroo Island is also showing that it is skilled at   
         'playing dead', a behavior that researchers believe is a recorded   
         world first.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   They're well known for their industrious work, but now a species of ant   
   on Kangaroo Island is also showing that it is skilled at 'playing dead',   
   a behaviour that University of South Australia researchers believe is   
   a recorded world first.   
      
   Accidentally discovered as researchers were checking pygmy-possum and   
   bat nest boxes on Kangaroo Island, a colony of Polyrhachis femorata ants   
   appeared to be dead... until one moved.   
      
   Researchers believe the ants were 'playing dead' as a defensive strategy   
   to avoid potential danger.   
      
   Published by CSIRO, this is the first time that a whole colony of ants   
   has been recorded feigning death, and the first record of the Polyrhachis   
   femorataant species for South Australia.   
      
   Wildlife ecologist, UniSA's Associate Professor S. 'Topa' Petit, says   
   she was surprised to discover a colony of what appeared to be dead ants   
   in one of the nest boxes.   
      
   "The mimicry was perfect," Assoc Professor Petit says. "When we opened   
   the box, we saw all these dead ants...and then one moved slightly.   
      
   "This sort of defensive immobility is known among only a few ant   
   species -- in individuals or specific casts -- but we don't know of   
   other instances when it's been observed for entire colonies.   
      
   "In some of the boxes containing colonies of Polyrhachis femorata, some   
   individuals took a while to stop moving, and others didn't stop. The   
   triggers for the behaviour are difficult to understand."  Assoc Prof   
   Petit says that nest boxes may present an opportunity to study the ants'   
   death-feigning behaviours, which are of great interest to many behavioural   
   ecologists investigating a diversity of animal species.   
      
   The discovery was made during the Kangaroo Island Nest Box Project, where   
   901 box cavities have been monitored across 13 diverse properties as part   
   of wildlife recovery efforts following the devastating 2020 bushfires.   
      
   Co-researcher at the Kangaroo Island Research Station, Peter Hammond, says   
   that he used to call the Nest Box Project 'Friends of the Invertebrates',   
   because invertebrates were often the only occupants of the bat and   
   pygmy-possum nest boxes.   
      
   "We are learning a lot about invertebrates as well as targeted   
   vertebrates," Hammond says.   
      
   "Most of our several hundred boxes are on burnt ground, but we also have   
   some on unburnt properties as controls because our aim is to determine   
   the value of nest boxes in bushfire recovery.   
      
   "Polyrhachis femorata is strongly associated with the critically   
   endangered Narrow-Leaf Mallee community, where it colonised several   
   boxes very quickly.   
      
   However, we also have records for two other properties further west,   
   indicating that the ants will use other habitats.   
      
   "We believe that the Polyrhachis femorata species was strongly affected   
   by the bushfires."  Assoc Prof Petit says there is a lot to discover   
   about this species.   
      
   "Polyrhachis femorata is a beautiful arboreal ant that tends to be   
   quite shy, but little else is known about its ecology or behaviour,"   
   Assoc Prof Petit says.   
      
   "We have a relatively unknown world of ants under our feet and in   
   the trees.   
      
   Ants provide crucial ecosystem services and are a vital part of functional   
   ecosystems on Kangaroo Island and elsewhere.   
      
   "It is very exciting that such an endearing species as Polyrhachis   
   femorata is living on Kangaroo Island and we look forward to finding   
   out more about its ecology.   
      
   "We have no doubt that other ants with similar death-feigning behaviours   
   will be discovered in Australia, but it is thrilling to be among the   
   pioneers."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Insects_(including_Butterflies) # New_Species #   
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_South_Australia. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Sophie Petit, Peter A. Hammond, Brian Heterick, John J. Weyland.   
      
         Polyrhachis femorata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) habitat and colony   
         defensive immobility strategy. Australian Journal of Zoology,   
         2023; 70 (4): 126 DOI: 10.1071/ZO22042   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230509122125.htm   
      
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