David couldn't bring down Goliath: museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood, 1840) upon a large hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775)
Insights into insect predatory behaviour can be inferred indirectly from specimens housed in Natural History Collections. In this work, we document a unique interaction, never recorded before, involving the remains of a Solenopsis Westwood, 1840 ant worker —probably S. saevissima (Smith, 1855)— whos...
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Pensoft Publishers
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Biodiversity Data Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/142671/download/pdf/ |
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| author | Adrián Sánchez Albert Alain Dejean Mercedes París |
| author_facet | Adrián Sánchez Albert Alain Dejean Mercedes París |
| author_sort | Adrián Sánchez Albert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Insights into insect predatory behaviour can be inferred indirectly from specimens housed in Natural History Collections. In this work, we document a unique interaction, never recorded before, involving the remains of a Solenopsis Westwood, 1840 ant worker —probably S. saevissima (Smith, 1855)— whose head is firmly attached by its mandibles to an antenna of a female hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775) (Sphingidae). This specimen is part of the Entomology Collection at the MNCN-CSIC in Madrid, Spain. As fire ants have very large colonies showing collective hunting behaviour, this worker was likely trapped while taking part in a group attack with nestmates attempting to subdue this comparatively large moth. This observation highlights the value of museum specimens in revealing aspects of predator-prey interactions that might otherwise remain undocumented. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3fbc055df037465db2589b477dd7092d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1314-2828 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Pensoft Publishers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Biodiversity Data Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-3fbc055df037465db2589b477dd7092d2025-01-10T08:30:30ZengPensoft PublishersBiodiversity Data Journal1314-28282025-01-01131610.3897/BDJ.12.e142671142671David couldn't bring down Goliath: museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood, 1840) upon a large hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775)Adrián Sánchez Albert0Alain Dejean1Mercedes París2Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC)Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse INP, Université Paul SabatierMuseo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC)Insights into insect predatory behaviour can be inferred indirectly from specimens housed in Natural History Collections. In this work, we document a unique interaction, never recorded before, involving the remains of a Solenopsis Westwood, 1840 ant worker —probably S. saevissima (Smith, 1855)— whose head is firmly attached by its mandibles to an antenna of a female hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775) (Sphingidae). This specimen is part of the Entomology Collection at the MNCN-CSIC in Madrid, Spain. As fire ants have very large colonies showing collective hunting behaviour, this worker was likely trapped while taking part in a group attack with nestmates attempting to subdue this comparatively large moth. This observation highlights the value of museum specimens in revealing aspects of predator-prey interactions that might otherwise remain undocumented.https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/142671/download/pdf/novel interactionfire ant<i>Solenopsis</i>ha |
| spellingShingle | Adrián Sánchez Albert Alain Dejean Mercedes París David couldn't bring down Goliath: museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood, 1840) upon a large hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775) Biodiversity Data Journal novel interaction fire ant <i>Solenopsis</i> ha |
| title | David couldn't bring down Goliath: museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood, 1840) upon a large hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775) |
| title_full | David couldn't bring down Goliath: museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood, 1840) upon a large hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775) |
| title_fullStr | David couldn't bring down Goliath: museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood, 1840) upon a large hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775) |
| title_full_unstemmed | David couldn't bring down Goliath: museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood, 1840) upon a large hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775) |
| title_short | David couldn't bring down Goliath: museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants (Solenopsis Westwood, 1840) upon a large hawk moth Eumorpha phorbas (Cramer, 1775) |
| title_sort | david couldn 039 t bring down goliath museum specimen reveals a failed predation attempt by fire ants solenopsis westwood 1840 upon a large hawk moth eumorpha phorbas cramer 1775 |
| topic | novel interaction fire ant <i>Solenopsis</i> ha |
| url | https://bdj.pensoft.net/article/142671/download/pdf/ |
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