The African stink ant (Pachycondyla tarsata, previously Paltothyreus tarsatus) creates large underground colonies that are home to anywhere from hundreds to thousands of ants, and occasionally a frog or two. The West African rubber frog (Phrynomantis microps) hides in the humid nests to survive the long dry season of southern and central Africa. However, the ant colonies are armed with highly aggressive ant militias that fight off intruders with powerful, venomous jaws. So how do these frogs escape attack?
A study recently published in PLOS ONE found that the rubber frog excretes chemicals that camouflage it from the ants. Ants detect threats by “smelling” them with their antennae, but the frog’s unique perfume makes it invisible to the ants, allowing it to slip between their defenses undetected. Specifically, the scientists isolated two peptides in the secretion found to hinder the aggressive behavior common to stink ants.
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Photo by April Nobile. Available from http://www.antweb.org. Image Copyright © AntWeb 2002 – 2014. Licensing: Creative Commons Attribution License
While frog and arthropod associations are not uncommon, this is one of only three described frog-arthropod associations that include chemical signals. Along with the dotted humming frog and the burrowing tarantula, a frog species from South America (Lithodytes lineatus) breeds in the nests of a type of leaf cutter ant (Atta cephalotes) because of their stable microclimates. To earn their keep, the frogs eat assassin bugs that attack the ants.
This study is the first to decode the specific chemical signature of the rubber frog’s compound, providing not only insights into the natural world, but also potential products for human use. The peptides described “could be potentially used as models for taming insect aggression,” according to the study.
Citations:
- Rödel M-O, Brede C, Hirschfeld M, Schmitt T, Favreau P, et al. (2013) Chemical Camouflage – A Frog’s Strategy to Co-Exist with Aggressive Ants. PLoS ONE 8(12): e81950. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081950
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