background: qeshm (26.75n, 55.82e), iran, is 1500 km² island in the strait of hormuz. qeshm is a free trade zone, acting as an important channel for international commerce, and has been the site of much recent development. there is potential risk of stinging ant attacks for residents and visitors that may occur in the island. the aims of this study were to find out the fauna, dispersion, and so...

BACKGROUND Stings from the Asian needle ant are an important cause of anaphylaxis in East Asia. A 23-kDa protein homologous to antigen 5 is the major allergen produced by these ants. In this study, we aimed to produce a recombinant antigen 5 allergen, Pac c 3. METHODS Recombinant Pac c 3 allergen from the Asian needle ant was expressed in Pichia pastoris and purified by ammonium sulfate preci...

The Asian needle ant (Pachycondyla chinensis Emery) is invading natural and disturbed habitats across the eastern United States. While recent studies document the impact of P. chinensis on native ecosystems and human health, effective control measures remain unknown. Thus, we evaluated the field performance of a hydramethylnon granular bait, Maxforce Complete Granular Insect Bait, dispersed in ...

Symbioses between plants and fungi, fungi and ants, and ants and plants all play important roles in ecosystems. Symbioses involving all three partners appear to be rare. Here, we describe a novel tripartite symbiosis in which ants and a fungus inhabit domatia of an ant-plant, and present evidence that such interactions are widespread. We investigated 139 individuals of the African ant-plant Leo...

The foundation of many plant-ant mutualisms is ant protection of plants from herbivores in exchange for food and/or shelter. While the role of symbiotic ants in protecting plants from stem- and leaf-feeding herbivores has been intensively studied, the relationship between ant defense and measures of plant fitness has seldom been quantified. We studied ant aggression, damage by herbivores and se...

Three ant species nest obligately in the swollen-thorn domatia of the African ant-plant Vachellia (Acacia) drepanolobium, a model system for the study of ant-defence mutualisms and species coexistence. Here we report on the characteristic fungal communities generated by these ant species in their domatia. First, we describe behavioural differences between the ant species when presented with a c...

Mutualisms are key components of biodiversity and ecosystem function, yet the forces maintaining them are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of removing large mammals on an ant-Acacia mutualism in an African savanna. Ten years of large-herbivore exclusion reduced the nectar and housing provided by plants to ants, increasing antagonistic behavior by a mutualistic ant associate and sh...

A new species ( Rotundabaloghia Circobaloghia ) nagyi sp. nov.) of the rotundabaloghid mites is described based on females and male collected in bamboo leaf litter Cameroon. The differs from other Afrotropical following character combination: female genital shield with long apical process, setae v7 v8 pilose, v6 smooth, v2 short needle-like, genital, dorsal ventral shields are ornamented by irr...