Latest news with #RogerVila
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Just Found The Perfect Disguise to Sneak Into a Termite Colony
Beneath the rocky soil of Morocco, researchers have uncovered a surprising intruder living undetected inside termite colonies. Few outsiders gain acceptance in termite society, but a species of blowfly has evolved an incredible multipart disguise that successfully fools termites, allowing its larvae to not just survive but seemingly thrive. This has not been firmly documented previously in these flies, according to a new study. The authors say it was luck they discovered the fly larvae inhabiting colonies in the Anti-Atlas mountains of southern Morocco, where native harvester termites (Anacanthotermes ochraceus) build subterranean nests. Evolutionary biologist Roger Vila from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Spain and his team study butterflies and ants, and since few butterflies were active that day due to recent rains, they looked for ants. "When we lifted a stone we found a termite mound with three fly larvae that we had never seen before," Vila says. "The water had probably flooded the deeper layers of the nest and the larvae had emerged onto the surface." Intrigued, the researchers returned three times. They lifted hundreds of stones but found only two more of the larvae, which were together in a termite mound. This suggests the species is rare, Vila says. Phylogenomic analysis indicates the blowflies belong to the genus Rhyncomya, although more research is needed to investigate its abundance, along with other details about its biology and ecology. What we know so far is already astounding, though. Termites use their antennae to pat down and smell anyone who enters, helping them quickly identify trouble. Specialized soldier termites have giant mandibles for just such an occasion. Yet with such enviable safety, climate control, and food security, it may be tempting for other insects to try infiltrating their colonies, despite the risk. For part of their disguise, the blowfly larvae display a "termite mask" on their rear end. This consists of a fake head adorned with antennae and palps similar to those of a harvester termite. The fake head also includes fake eyes, which look remarkably like harvester termite eyes. In reality, Vila notes, these are breathing holes. "Most termites live several meters deep and have no visual perception," Vila says. "However, harvester termites come out at dusk to collect grass, so they have functional eyes that the larvae are able to mimic with their spiracles." In addition to the fake termite head, larvae's bodies are covered with strange 'tentacles'. These are uncanny imitations of termite antennae, as the researchers demonstrated with scanning electron microscopy. Unlike the fake head, these tentacles may be functional. The flies seem to actually use them for communicating with termites. And since the larvae have so many of these protrusions, they're able to communicate with several termites at once. Those are both impressive adaptations, but still not quite enough on their own. Each termite colony has its own scent, shared by all members, and nobody gets in without it. Looking like a termite won't help if you don't smell right – intruders from other colonies are not welcome, and may be dismembered by soldiers. But these fly larvae are pros. They don't just imitate a colony's scent; according to Vila, they match it perfectly. "We quantified the chemical composition of these larvae and the result is surprising: They are indistinguishable from the termites in the colony where they live; they smell exactly the same," he says. In the wild, the fly larvae had been in their hosts' food chambers when Vila and his colleagues found them. The researchers brought some back to a laboratory termite mound, where the larvae gravitated toward more populated areas. Termites were highly attentive, flocking around the fly larvae and preening them. They also appeared to feed them. "The larvae are not only tolerated, but they constantly communicate with the termites through contact with their antenna-like tentacles," Vila says. "The termites even seem to feed them, although this has not yet been unequivocally demonstrated." Some humpback flies (Phoridae) also mimic termites, but they do it as adults, not larvae. They're also not closely related to these blowflies, suggesting the ruses evolved independently. "The common ancestor of blowflies and humpback flies dates back more than 150 million years, much further than that which separates humans from mice. We are therefore confident that we have discovered a new case of social integration evolution," Vila says. No other known species in the genus Rhyncomya exhibit a similar appearance or lifestyle, hinting at a relatively quick evolution. "This discovery invites us to reconsider the limits and potential of symbiotic relationships and social parasitism in nature," Vila says. "But, above all, we should realize how much we still do not know about the vast diversity and specialization of insects, which are essential organisms in ecosystems." The study was published in Current Biology. Whale Song Reveals Eerie Similarities to Human Speech, Scientists Find Mysterious Radioactive Anomaly Discovered Deep Under The Pacific Ocean Sea Turtles Dance to Orientate With Earth's Magnetic Field, Study Reveals
BBC News
14-02-2025
- Science
- BBC News
'Bum-face' maggots are masters of disguise
This tiny, sneaky maggot has developed a special technique that might surprise undiscovered blow fly larvae (a baby fly) were found in the mountains of Morocco, and have evolved so their backsides resemble a termite other words, their bottoms look like they have little faces on believe this allows the larvae to sneak into termite colonies to steal their food, all undetected. Soldier termites are known for aggressively guarding their colonies, attacking any invaders. But the disguise is so convincing that the termites think the maggots are part of their colony. In fact, the termites even groom the maggots like they're one of them! Talk about a "bum" deal for the discovered the larvae's sneaky trick by accident while looking for ants. When they lifted a stone in Morocco's Anti-Atlas mountains, they found a termite mound with two never-seen-before maggots living author Roger Vila, a scientist at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Spain, said: "It must be an extremely rare species, because we have made three more expeditions in that area and, despite lifting hundreds of stones, we found only two more". But the maggots' disguise isn't just about looking like to the study, these larvae have adapted their smells, senses, and even breathing holes to mimic termites too. Their holes are cleverly shaped to look like termite eyes, and their sensory organs are just like termite antennae. It's like a whole termite costume!And for their next trick, the maggots have developed a smell that's exactly like termites."They smell exactly the same," Vila said, explaining that each termite colony has a unique means the larvae have adapted to blend right in with that specific colony. The larvae belong to a group of flies called Rhyncomya, but no other flies in this group are known to be such masters of team suspects that means the larvae are a completely newly discovered species.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare fly species wears fake termite head to infiltrate nests
The natural world is full of tricksters. African daisies can imitate flies to trick real insects into attempting to mate with them and depositing precious pollen. Some spiders can scuttle around like ants to avoid trouble. Now, an international team of scientists have observed a blow fly successfully living in disguise among termites–by wearing 'termite masks.' The findings are detailed in a study published February 10 in the journal Current Biology. A team of scientists discovered a species of blow fly (family Calliphoridae) whose larvae can infiltrate colonies of harvester termites in the Anti-Atlas mountains of southern Morocco. The research group from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) at the Spanish National Research Council primarily studies ants and butterflies. Since the area was a little dry and lacking rainfall, the butterflies were not flying. The team decided to look around for some ants instead and were in for a surprise. 'When we lifted a stone we found a termite mound with three fly larvae that we had never seen before. The water had probably flooded the deeper layers of the nest and the larvae had emerged onto the surface,' Roger Vila, a study co-author and an evolutionary biologist at IBE said in a statement. 'It must be an extremely rare species, because we have made three more expeditions in that area and, despite lifting hundreds of stones, we found only two more flies, together, in another termite mound.' The team took a closer look at the ant's bodies to see what types of adaptations were unique to this species of blow fly. The larvae of this calliphorid fly use disguise that helps them infiltrate termite mounds. The larvae display a 'termite mask' on the backs of their bodies. The mask includes a non-functional head adorned with antennae and palps–forward appendages near the mouth of termites–that are the same size as those of a large harvester termites. They also have two false eyes. These fake peepers are the larvae's breathing holes. 'Most termites live several metres deep and have no visual perception,' said Vila. 'However, harvester termites come out at dusk to collect grass, so they have functional eyes that the larvae are able to mimic with their spiracles.' The larvae also use unusual 'tentacles' around their bodies that are detailed termite antennae dupes. The team used a scanning electron microscopy to look at the tentacles and saw that they help the larvae communicate with several termites at the same time. [ Related: Even ants may hold grudges. ] Everything inside a termite nest is dark, so the termites use their antennae to recognize each other. Their antennae can detect the shape and smell of their siblings, since all members of the nest share a particular scent. If the soldier termites sniff out intruders from other colonies, they will attack and dismember the interlopers. To keep from being detected–and likely dismembered–the bowflies mimic the distinctive odour of their hosts. The team's analysis revealed that the chemical composition of the larvae is indistinguishable from the termites in the colony. This chemical disguise is key to interacting with the termites and benefitting from their communicable nest life. Future studies could determine how they create this unique scent booster. When the team initially found the larvae in Morocco, they were in the termite mound's food chambers. When they observed the larvae back in a laboratory set up, they saw that they tend to settle in the most populated area of the nest. Here, they actually received constant attention from the termites. While the team couldn't determine what the larvae were eating, they did observe that the termites appeared to be transmitting food to the larvae using their mouths. 'The larvae are not only tolerated, but they constantly communicate with the termites through contact with their antenna-like tentacles,' said Vila. 'The termites even seem to feed them, although this has not yet been unequivocally demonstrated.' One of the study's biggest challenges was the difficulty of keeping the insects in the lab. It involves maintaining colonies of desert termites, who live in very special conditions in the wild. 'The larvae we studied eventually died without metamorphosing, so there may be elements of the nest and the symbiotic relationship between the termites and the flies that we were unable to transfer to the laboratory. Their diet is currently unknown, and their adult form remains a mystery,' said Vila. [ Related: Flies with shorter eye-stalks act aggressively because females are less attracted to them. ] According to the team, the relationship between the blow fly larvae and termites appears to be some form of social parasitism or symbiosis. Humpbacked flies and termites have a similar relationship. However, it is adult humpback flies and not the larvae that mimic termites. Genomic study also showed that the fly belongs to the genus Rhyncomya. No known species of this genus have this unusual lifestyle or physical traits, so the team believes that this new species must have evolved very quickly. 'This discovery invites us to reconsider the limits and potential of symbiotic relationships and social parasitism in nature,' said Vila. 'But, above all, we should realise how much we still do not know about the vast diversity and specialisation of insects, which are essential organisms in ecosystems.'
