Eur. J. Entomol. 121: 324-340, 2024 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2024.034

Entry by brute force: An unusual behaviour displayed by Scaurus uncinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), to access nests of Messor barbarus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in SpainOriginal article

Juan A. DELGADO ORCID...1, Ricardo L. PALMA ORCID...2
1 Departamento de Zoología y Antropología Física, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; e-mail: jdelgado@um.es
2 Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, P.O. Box 467, Wellington, New Zealand; e-mail: RicardoP@tepapa.govt.nz

We describe a new and unusual myrmecophilous behaviour displayed by the darkling beetle, Scaurus uncinus (Forster, 1771) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), accessing nests of the harvester ant, Messor barbarus (Linnaeus, 1767) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in southeast Spain. The beetles enter the interior of the ant nests using a relatively primitive strategy based only on brute force, which we name "brute force entries". To understand the significance of this behaviour, we have studied the interactions of these two species in the field and in the laboratory during six years. Our observations confirm that specimens of S. uncinus expend a considerable effort to enter the ant nests, despite the ants fiercely attacking them, to the extent that the beetles lose legs and antennae through the process. We describe and discuss this behaviour, and identify hypotheses about its development and significance.

Keywords: Darkling beetle, seed harvester ant, myrmecophily, species interaction, field observations, defensive postures, appendage mutilations, chemical cues

Received: March 21, 2024; Revised: August 12, 2024; Accepted: August 12, 2024; Published online: September 12, 2024  Show citation

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DELGADO, J.A., & PALMA, R.L. (2024). Entry by brute force: An unusual behaviour displayed by Scaurus uncinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), to access nests of Messor barbarus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Spain. EJE, 121, Article 324-340. https://doi.org/10.14411/eje.2024.034
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