Mony R., Dejean A., Bilong Bilong C. F., Kenne M., Rouland Lefèvre Corinne. (2013). Melissotarsus ants are likely able to digest plant polysaccharides. Comptes Rendus Biologies, 33 (10), p. 500-504. ISSN 1631-0691.
Titre du document
Melissotarsus ants are likely able to digest plant polysaccharides
Mony R., Dejean A., Bilong Bilong C. F., Kenne M., Rouland Lefèvre Corinne
Source
Comptes Rendus Biologies, 2013,
33 (10), p. 500-504 ISSN 1631-0691
Melissotarsus ants have an extremely specialized set of behaviours. Both workers and gynes tunnel galleries in their host tree bark. Workers walk with their mesothoracic legs pointing upwards and tend Diaspididae hemiptera for their flesh. The ants use their forelegs to plug the galleries with silk that they secrete themselves. We hypothesised that the ants' energetic needs for nearly constant gallery digging could be satisfied through the absorption of host tree tissues; so, using basic techniques, we examined the digestive capacities of workers from two species. We show that workers are able to degrade oligosaccharides and heterosides as well as, to a lesser degree, polysaccharides. This is one of the rare reports on ants able to digest plant polysaccharides other than starch.
