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Multiple ant species tending lac insect Kerria yunnanensis (Hemiptera: Kerriidae) provide asymmetric protection against parasitoids.

ABSTRACT: This study investigated the effects of ant attendance on the parasitoid community and parasitism of lac insect Kerria yunnanensis aggregations in Yunnan province, China. We manipulated ant attendance to establish three treatments: (1) ant exclusion; (2) low ant attendance by several ant species; and (3) high ant attendance by Crematogaster macaoensis. Five parasitoid species were collected, with two species contributing 82.7 and 13.2% of total abundance respectively. Total parasitoid abundance was lowest in the February sample when K. yunnanensis was in its younger life stage, being significantly lower in the ant exclusion treatment. In April, all three treatments had significantly different parasitoid abundances, being highest in the ant exclusion treatment and the lowest in the high ant attendance treatment. When ants were present, there were strong negative relationships between total parasitoid abundance and ant abundance, with the relationships being dependent upon the ant species composition and abundance. The patterns of total parasitoid abundance were driven by the two most abundant parasitoid species. Parasitoid species richness did not differ among treatments or between sample times, however, multivariate analysis confirmed that overall parasitoid community structure differed significantly among treatments and between sample times, with the high ant attendance treatment differing most from the other two treatments. Interestingly the absence of ants did not result in increased parasitism from four of the five parasitoids. Ants in lac insect farming systems have a clear role for agricultural pest management. A full understanding of the asymmetric abilities of ants to influence parasitoid communities, and affect parasitism of hosts will require further experimental manipulation to assess the relative roles of 1) the abundance of each individual ant species on parasitoid access to hosts, 2) competition among parasitoids, and 3) the interaction between the first two factors.

SUBMITTER: Chen Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4041774 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Multiple ant species tending lac insect Kerria yunnanensis (Hemiptera: Kerriidae) provide asymmetric protection against parasitoids.

Chen Youqing Y Lu Zhixing Z Li Qiao Q Hoffmann Benjamin D BD Zhang Wei W

PloS one 20140602 6

This study investigated the effects of ant attendance on the parasitoid community and parasitism of lac insect Kerria yunnanensis aggregations in Yunnan province, China. We manipulated ant attendance to establish three treatments: (1) ant exclusion; (2) low ant attendance by several ant species; and (3) high ant attendance by Crematogaster macaoensis. Five parasitoid species were collected, with two species contributing 82.7 and 13.2% of total abundance respectively. Total parasitoid abundance w ...[more]

PMID: 24887398

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Project description:The taxonomic status of the Chinese lac insects Kerria yunnanensis (Ou and Hong) (Hemiptera: Kerridae) and K. ruralis (Wang, Yao, Teiu and Liang) were analyzed in this paper by comparing morphological, cellular, and molecular data. Cladistic analysis showed K. yunnanensis and K. ruralis to be distinct from other Kerria species such as K. lacca and K. chinensis. The karyotype of K. yunnanensis was 3A and the chromosome structure was K = 6 m + 2 sm + 10T, while in K. ruralis the karyotype was 3B and the chromosome structure was K = 8 m + 10 T. Kerria ruralis and K. yunnanensis had the closest relationship among species in the genus as they had the most similar karyotype homology. Based on the karyotype analysis, K. sindica and K. lacca formed a sister group with K. ruralis and K. yunnanensis. Kerria pusana and K. nepalensis were clustered as a sister branch, indicating the close relationship of these taxa. The karyotype of K. chinensis was however, different from the other six species and formed a separate branch. RAPD analysis also showed that K. yunnanensis and K. ruralis had distinct differences from other species of Kerria, although they did not form sister taxa. Molecular analysis based on the EF1α gene using ML, MP, and Mr. Bayes' methods indicated that seven species of lac insects cluster in two major groups. In group 1, K. sindica and K. lacca formed a sister clade and were primitive members of the genus. In group 2, K. chinensis formed the earliest diverging branch followed by K. ruralis. Kerria yunnanensis was the next to diverge followed by the cluster containing K. pusana and K. nepalensis. Hybridization testing showed that crosses neither between K. yunnanensis and K. sindica, nor between K. yunnanensis and K. lacca could produce first generation larvae. This was indicative that K. yunnanensis had a distant genetic relationship from the other species. Morphological, cellular, molecular, and hybridization results confirmed the independent status of the Chinese endemic species K. yunnanensis and K. ruralis. Kerria ruralis was genetically closely related to K. yunnanensis, but relatively far from K. lacca. The main commercial species in China was K. yunnanensis, while in Thailand it was K. chinensis. The commercial species in Myanmar included K. nepalensis and K. pusana, the latter being most widely used in lac production.

Dataset Information

Multiple ant species tending lac insect Kerria yunnanensis (Hemiptera: Kerriidae) provide asymmetric protection against parasitoids.

Publications

Multiple ant species tending lac insect Kerria yunnanensis (Hemiptera: Kerriidae) provide asymmetric protection against parasitoids.

Similar Datasets

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