Tag Archives: parasitic

The Parasitic Ant Deceives Workers into Assassinating the Queen and Seizing Her Throne.

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The parasitic ant queen Lasius orientalis (left) invading the nest of Lasius flavus and approaching the queen (right)

Keizo Takasuka/Kyushu University

Some parasitic ants usurp colonies of related species by prompting worker ants to eliminate and replace the resident queen.

Approximately 230 species of ants are classified as parasitic, depositing eggs within the nests of other species or pilfering larvae and pupae. Certain species eliminate the host queen before laying their eggs and manipulate the worker ants to care for these eggs instead.

Professors Keizo Takasuka and his colleagues at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, observed this behavior when the queen of the parasitic species Lasius orientalis inadvertently invaded a relative’s nest, Lasius flavus. The workers proceeded to kill their own queen.

While many parasitic queens face elimination by worker ants upon discovery, some manage to camouflage themselves with the colony’s scent and evade detection.

To gauge the effectiveness of the parasitic queens, the researchers aided the intruders by disguising them with the scent of worker ants before placing them into the colony.

“It reminds me of the TV series The Walking Dead, where characters pass through hordes of zombies with walker blood smeared on them, operating under a disguise that often fails, leading to brutal deaths for those exposed,” Takasuga remarks.

Once the parasite breaches a colony, it emits a chemical, likely formic acid, through a gland at the end of its abdomen to target a rival queen.

Worker ants perceive this chemical as a threat and attack the rival queen upon detecting it. However, the process is gradual, necessitating multiple sprays and numerous assaults before the queen is ultimately killed. The parasitic queen can then lay her eggs, which are nurtured by the worker ants.

“If the parasitic strategy succeeds, the new queen can navigate the delicate establishment phase much more securely than if she were to start a colony independently,” Takasuga comments. “This approach might be more prevalent than we currently acknowledge.”

Researchers at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, including Chris Reid, assert that the intricate behaviors of ants are challenging to observe due to their subterranean nests.

“This form of natural history detective work is crucial for enhancing our understanding of these immensely significant insects,” Reid notes. “Further investigations may even pave the way for novel methods to target invasive ant queens, a major challenge facing ecosystems globally.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Two Parasitic Bacteria Discovered in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber

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The fossilized bacteria from Cachin Amber in Central Cretaceous belong to the same family as the zombie ant bacteria, ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which has become well-known as the inspiration for various popular apocalyptic video games and TV series, such as Our Last.

Ecological reconstruction of Cretaceous insects and insect pathogenic fungi. The ants have abandoned the infected PUP, and the infected fly is located on the trunk of a distant tree. Image credit: Zhuang et al., doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0407.

Two newly identified species, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae and Paleoophiocordyceps Ironomyiae, represent some of the oldest fossil records of animals and pathogenic fungi.

These specimens were discovered in 99-million-year-old fragments of Kachin amber, sourced from a mine near the village of Neuebham in northern Myanmar.

“Insects and fungi are among the most diverse groups of living organisms, cohabiting Earth’s ecosystems for over 400 million years,” explains Professor Edmund Jalsenbowski, a paleontologist at the Geology, Paleontology and Natural History Museum in London, along with his colleagues from the Nanjing Institute of Studies.

“Consequently, they have developed intricate and close ecological relationships, including reciprocity, predation, and parasitism.”

“Entomopathogenic fungi, in particular, have garnered attention for their role in regulating insect populations, though much remains unclear about them.”

“The infection process begins when spores come into contact with the proper host, initiating germination through enzymatic hydrolysis, allowing entry into the insect’s body cavity (hemocoel).”

“Once the fungus infiltrates the insect’s body, it (as yeast-like cells at this phase) proliferates via budding, consuming the host’s body from within.”

“Eventually, the host typically succumbs to fungal toxins, leading to the formation of chains of yeast-like cells that transition to the filamentous stage shortly after the host’s death.”

“These filaments gradually organize into compact spore-producing structures (sporocaps) that emerge from the softer parts of the insect, dispersing spores into the environment to infect additional hosts.”

Holotype of Paleoophiocordyceps Ironomyiae. This comparison of mid-Cretaceous specimens shows similarities with existing Bacillus ophiocordis: (a, b) Lateral and dorsal views of the bipteran host, where potential fungal structures are visible. (c) Closure of the fungal stroma of Paleoophiocordyceps Ironomyiae; (D, E) Apex of the fungal stroma. The red arrows indicate the surroundings. (f, g, h) Presence of ophiocordyceps stromas for Ant and Dipteran hosts. Scale bars – 0.5 mm (a, b), 0.1 mm (c) and 50 μm (d, e). Image credit: Zhuang et al., doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0407.

According to the authors, Paleoophiocordyceps gerontoformicae was found in a young ant, while Paleoophiocordyceps Ironomyiae was discovered on a fly.

“It’s captivating to observe that some of the unusual phenomena we witness today were also present during the age of dinosaurs,” remarked Professor Jarzembowski.

“Known as a zombie fungus, it can influence the behavior of its host, a feature that has been depicted in popular apocalyptic video games and series like Our Last.”

“Given that the infection is lethal, ophiocordyceps and its fossil counterparts likely played a significant role in regulating insect populations during the Middle Cretaceous, similar to how their modern relatives do today.”

“While parasitism is common in today’s ecosystems, evidence of these interactions is seldom found in the fossil record.”

“This is primarily due to the poor preservation of their soft tissues in fossils and the fact that they reside within their hosts, making identification among insect remains challenging.”

“While ancient parasite specimens have been uncovered, our understanding of their evolution remains limited.”

“This new discovery provides rare insight into these parasites from a long-ago era.”

The team’s research paper was published in the June 2025 issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biology.

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Yuhui Zhuang et al. Cretaceous insect pathogenic fungi illuminate the early evolution of insect-fungal associations. Proc. R. Soc. B 292 (2048): 20250407; doi: 10.1098/rspb.2025.0407

Source: www.sci.news

In Kachin amber, we discovered preserved odd parasitic wasp species

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in paper Published in the journal BMC Biologypaleontologists described an extinct species of the parasite hornet, found in the cretbone system in the Kachin region of Myanmar. It has been named Sirenobethylus charybdisthis species may have used abdomen like Venus’ flight laps to capture and immobilize prey.

Sirenobethylus charybdis. Scale bar – 0.5 mm in (a), 0.3 mm in (b), 0.2 mm in (c). Image credits: Woo et al. , doi: 10.1186/s12915-025-02190-2.

“Insects are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, with more than a million described species, and perhaps fewer than several times listed,” said Taipingao, a paleontologist at a regular university in the capital.

“Recent estimates suggest a total of about 5.5 million species.”

“Their highly adaptable exoskeletons have enabled them to radiate and colonize a wide range of habitats and develop highly efficient and innovative solutions to the various challenges posed by their surroundings.”

“Among other mechanisms, carnivorous insects have evolved a variety of prey capture mechanisms.”

“However, insect predation strategies in the fossil record are still poorly understood.”

In the new study, the author examined 16 adult women Sirenobethylus charybdis Found on Kachin Amber.

The new species lived in the mid-Cretaceous period, about 99 million years ago.

Form of Sirenobethylus charybdis It indicates that the insects were parasites – insects that cause larvae to live as parasites and ultimately kill their hosts.

“Modern parasitic wasps from Superfamily Chrysidoidea include cuckoo and vetirido hornets,” the researchers said.

“but, Sirenobethylus charybdis The specimen has a unique venous pattern in the hind wing suggesting that the species belongs within its own family, Sirenovetiridae. ”

Scientists also discovered that this species is likely to be Koinobion. This is a parasitic wasp that allows the host to continue to grow during the host’s diet.

“A hornet specimen has an abdominal device made up of three flaps, and its decay forms a paddle-shaped structure with dozens of hair-like hairs that are visually reminiscent of the Venus flight lap plant,” they explained.

“Abdominal device Sirenobethylus charybdis Unlike that of known insects, it may have served as a mechanism to temporarily suppress the host during egg sales. ”

“The wasps were unable to pursue their prey over long distances, so potential hosts would have opened their devices and waited to activate the capture response.”

“Easy grasping devices are permitted Sirenobethylus charybdis Target highly mobile prey such as small, winged or jumping insects. ”

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Q. Woo et al. 2025. Cretaceous flight lap? Remarkable abdominal modifications in fossil hornets. BMC Biol 23, 81; doi:10.1186/s12915-025-02190-2

Source: www.sci.news

Microbiologists find that Antarctic archaea exhibit parasitic behaviors

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According to a new study Candidatus Nanohaloarchaeum AntarcticusThe DPANN archaeon, which lives in a highly saline Antarctic lake called Deep Lake, behaves like a parasitic predator, rapidly killing its host. Harolblum Luxpro Fundy.

What we see under an electron microscope Candidatus Nanohaloarchaeum antarctica attached to the host, Harolblum Luxpro FundyImage courtesy of Joshua N. Hamm.

“Archaea are one of three lineages of life, along with bacteria and eukaryotes (organisms whose cells have a membrane-enclosed nucleus, such as plants and animals),” said Dr Yan Liao, a microbiologist at the University of Technology Sydney.

“They are widespread and play a vital role in supporting Earth's ecosystems.”

“Compared to other lineages, archaea are less studied and understood. However, they provide clues about the evolution of life on Earth and the possible existence of life on other planets.”

“Its unique biochemistry also holds promising applications in biotechnology and bioremediation.”

“They have been found breeding in highly acidic boiling hot springs, deep-sea hydrothermal vents with temperatures well over 100 degrees, highly saline waters like the Dead Sea, and even in Antarctica.”

Candidatus Nanohaloarchaeum antarcticus was collected from a cold, saline, deep lake in Antarctica by Professor Riccardo Cavicchioli of the University of New South Wales.

This species belongs to a group called DPANN archaea, which are much smaller than other archaea, have very small genomes and limited metabolic capabilities.

Studies have revealed that they depend on host microorganisms, particularly other archaea, for survival.

“This is the first time this aggressive behaviour has been observed in archaea,” said Dr Joshua Hamm, a microbiologist at the Royal Netherlands Institute for Marine Research.

“In many ways, its activity resembles some viruses, leading us to reassess its ecological role in the Antarctic environment.”

DPANN archaea have rarely been cultivated in the laboratory, and the authors developed novel techniques, including unique sample staining, intravital fluorescence microscopy, and electron microscopy, to visualize the interior of host cells and follow the interactions between DPANN archaea and their hosts.

They stained the host archaea. Harolblum Luxpro Fundyand Candidatus Nanohaloarchaeum antarcticus, which has a non-cytotoxic dye that glows in various colors when exposed to laser light.

“This makes it possible to watch organisms together over long periods of time and identify cells by color,” Dr Liao said.

“We observed how the DPANN parasite attached and migrated inside the host cell, causing the host cell to lyse and burst.”

“Predators play a vital role in ecosystems because they not only provide food for themselves by killing their hosts, but also make the remains of the host's cells available as food for other organisms,” said Dr Ian Duggin, a microbiologist at the University of Technology Sydney.

“This allows other microbes to proliferate and prevents the host organism from storing nutrients.”

“The DPANN archaea we studied appear to play a much more important role in ecosystems than has been realized.”

“The parasitic or infectious lifestyle of these archaea may be common.”

of result Published in a journal Nature Communications.

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JN Ham others2024. Parasitic life of archaeal symbionts. Nat Community 15, 6449; doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49962-y

Source: www.sci.news