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Altruism during predation in an assassin bug

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Abstract

Zelus annulosus is an assassin bug species mostly noted on Hirtella physophora, a myrmecophyte specifically associated with the ant Allomerus decemarticulatus known to build traps on host tree twigs to ambush insect preys. The Z. annulosus females lay egg clutches protected by a sticky substance. To avoid being trapped, the first three instars of nymphs remain grouped in a clutch beneath the leaves on which they hatched, yet from time to time, they climb onto the upper side to group ambush preys. Long-distance prey detection permits these bugs to capture flying or jumping insects that alight on their leaves. Like some other Zelus species, the sticky substance of the sundew setae on their forelegs aids in prey capture. Group ambushing permits early instars to capture insects that they then share or not depending on prey size and the hunger of the successful nymphs. Fourth and fifth instars, with greater needs, rather ambush solitarily on different host tree leaves, but attract siblings to share large preys. Communal feeding permits faster prey consumption, enabling small nymphs to return sooner to the shelter of their leaves. By improving the regularity of feeding for each nymph, it likely regulates nymphal development, synchronizing molting and subsequently limiting cannibalism.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Andrea Yockey-Dejean for proofreading the manuscript and the Laboratoire Environnement de Petit Saut for furnishing logistical help. Financial support for this study was partially provided by a fellowship from the French Investissement d’Avenir grant managed by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CEBA, ref. ANR-10-LABX-0025), project Tri-Nutri, and by the Programme Convergence 2007–2013 Région Guyane (project Bi-APPLI) from the European Community.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical standards

The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were conducted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Écologie des Forêts de Guyane, Campus agronomique, BP 316, 97379, Kourou cedex, France

    Alain Dejean

  2. Université de Toulouse; UPS, Ecolab, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Alain Dejean

  3. National Research Council of Canada, 6100 Royalmount Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, H4P 2R2, Canada

    Messika Revel

  4. Centre INRS, Institut Armand-Frappier, Université du Québec, Laval, Quebec, H7V 1B7, Canada

    Messika Revel

  5. CNRS, Laboratoire Écologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement (UMR-CNRS 5245), 31062, Toulouse, France

    Frédéric Azémar

  6. Université de Toulouse; UPS, INP, Ecolab, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062, Toulouse, France

    Frédéric Azémar

  7. IRD; Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs, Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (UMR-IRD 224), Équipe BEES, IRD 01, BP 171, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

    Olivier Roux

Authors
  1. Alain Dejean
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  2. Messika Revel
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  3. Frédéric Azémar
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  4. Olivier Roux
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Correspondence to Alain Dejean.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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Dejean, A., Revel, M., Azémar, F. et al. Altruism during predation in an assassin bug. Naturwissenschaften 100, 913–922 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-013-1091-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-013-1091-9

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