Leslie Saul-Gershenz, lsaul@meer.net1, Jocelyn G. Millar, millar@ucr.edu2, and J. Steven McElfresh, steve.mcelfresh@ucr.edu2. (1) Center for Ecosystem Survival, Conservation Research, 699 Mississippi St, Suite 106, San Francisco, CA, (2) University of California - Riverside, Department of Entomology, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, CA
Cooperative behaviors are common among social insects such as
bees, wasps, ants, and termites, but they have not been reported
from insect species that use aggressive mimicry to manipulate and
exploit prey or hosts. Here we show that larval aggregations of the
blister beetle Meloe franciscanus, which parasitize nests of the
solitary bee Habropoda pallida, cooperate to exploit the sexual
communication system of their hosts by producing a chemical cue
that mimics the sex pheromone of the female bee. Male bees are
lured to larval aggregations, and upon contact (pseudocopulation)
the beetle larvae attach to the male bees. The larvae transfer to
female bees during mating and subsequently are transported to
the nests of their hosts. To mimic the chemical and visual signals of
female bees effectively, the parasite larvae must cooperate, emphasizing
the adaptive value of cooperation between larvae. The
aggressive chemical mimicry by the beetle larvae and their subsequent
transport to their hosts’ nests by the hosts themselves
provide an efficient solution to the problem of locating a critical
but scarce resource in a harsh environment.
keywords: aggressive chemical mimicry, cooperative behavior, Habropoda pallida, Meloe franciscanus, phoresy, Mojave Desert
Species 1: Coleoptera Meloidae
Meloe franciscanus (blister beetle)
Species 2: Hymenoptera Apidae
Habropoda pallida (digger bee)