Acropyga acutiventris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Acropyga acutiventris |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Acropyga acutiventris worker | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Subspecies | |
|
Acropyga acutiventris is a type of ant. It belongs to a group of ants called Formicinae. This ant lives underground in warm, tropical places. It has a special partnership with a tiny insect called a mealybug, Xenococcus annandalei. This partnership helps both the ant and the mealybug.
Contents
What Does This Ant Look Like?
This ant is quite small. It has a compact body and is yellowish-brown. These features are common for many ants that live underground.
Special Features
You can tell this ant apart from other ants in Australia. Its antennae have eleven parts, called segments. Its eyes have many tiny lenses, making them "multifaceted." Also, the first two parts of its antennae (called funicular segments) are the same size.
Where Does This Ant Live?
This ant lives in rainforests in tropical areas. You can find it in countries like India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sarawak, Singapore, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea. It also lives in parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia.
Habitat Details
In Australia, you usually won't find this ant living higher than 300 meters above sea level. It lives in similar areas to another ant called the weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina.
How This Ant Lives
The Acropyga acutiventris ant lives underground in its nest. It shares its home with the mealybug, Xenococcus annandalei. This mealybug is a special insect that lives only underground.
The Ant-Mealybug Partnership
The mealybug sucks sap from the roots of certain trees. It especially likes Ficus trees and coconut palms. As it feeds, the mealybug produces sweet drops called honeydew. This honeydew is a very important food source for the ants.
Worker ants take care of the mealybugs. They gently stroke the mealybugs' bodies. This encourages the mealybugs to produce more honeydew. It's like the ants are "milking" them!
Moving Home
If the ant colony is disturbed, the ants have to move. When they do, each worker ant carries a female mealybug to the new nest. They hold the mealybug carefully in their mandibles (their jaws).
The ants and mealybugs stay just below the surface when the soil is warm and wet. But if the weather gets cold and dry, they dig deeper underground. This special partnership happens everywhere these ants are found.
How New Colonies Start
The mealybug X. annandalei has only ever been found living with A. acutiventris ants. It lives in their nests. It is also carried by the queen ant during her nuptial flight (her mating flight). The queen carries a female mealybug with her. This way, when she starts a new colony, she already has a food supply. This is the only way this mealybug is known to spread to new places.
