Psyche: A Journal of Entomology

Ants and Their Parasites 2013


Publishing date
28 Jun 2013
Status
Published
Submission deadline
08 Apr 2013

1ECOSUR (El Colegio de la Frontera Sur), Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico

2IRBI (Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte), Université François Rabelais, Faculté des Sciences, Tours, France

3Department of Entomology and Biology, Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA


Ants and Their Parasites 2013

Description

Resources and/or protective services provided by ant colonies are exploited in manifold ways by an amazing diversity of other organisms acting as guests or parasites. Such associations can be obligatory or facultative, permanent or temporary, harmful or beneficial for the host. Due to the diversity of interactions, an understanding of the nature of these relationships and the mechanisms of integration used by parasites as well as the defense strategies developed by their potential host remains a challenge. Despite their apparent importance, detailed knowledge is lacking, for example, about diversity and abundance of ant parasites or selection pressures imposed through parasitism on host reproductive strategies. Moreover, considering the increasing losses in biodiversity due to habitat destruction and climate change, the diversity of the associations involving ants as hosts and the exact nature of these associations require accurate surveys.

Parasitism in ants has attracted the attention of numerous scientists in the last two centuries but, in spite of the accumulation of much information in the last decades, this important topic has not been brought together in a usable format, except in rare occasions. The first issue of this series, published in May 2012, examined a wide range of species: viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, silverfishes, flies, butterflies, beetles, spiders, wasps, and ants themselves. However, it could not cover all possible ant parasites. More studies examining their complex interactions from every possible angle, attempting to bring a more global vision of the functioning of such an evolutionary important relationship, is a challenging and fascinating goal. In this second volume, we will continue giving specific attention to both the mechanisms used by ant parasites to integrate into their host colony, and to the way parasitism pressure could affect patterns of reproduction and life history in ant hosts. We will also try to focus on the diversity of ant social parasites and the other kinds of myrmecophiles not tackled in the first issue. We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles on various aspects concerning ants and their parasites. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Biodiversity of ant parasites (including ant social parasites)
  • Dynamics of host-parasite association
  • (Co)evolution and phylogeny
  • Host specificity
  • Hyper-, super-, and multiparasitism
  • Mechanisms of integration in host colonies and host defense
  • Natural history and behavior
  • Community impact of ant parasites
  • Potential for biological pest-ant control
  • Life-cycles and reproductive strategies
  • Reciprocal fitness impacts (symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, parasitism)

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/psyche/ap13/ according to the following timetable:


Articles

  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 264279
  • - Editorial

Ants and Their Parasites 2013

Jean-Paul Lachaud | Alain Lenoir | David P. Hughes
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 539780
  • - Review Article

Leaf-Cutter Ant Parasitoids: Current Knowledge

Patricia J. Folgarait
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 936341
  • - Research Article

Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and Asaia

Stefanie Kautz | Benjamin E. R. Rubin | Corrie S. Moreau
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 541804
  • - Review Article

Rossomyrmex, the Slave-Maker Ants from the Arid Steppe Environments

F. Ruano | O. Sanllorente | ... | A. Tinaut
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 926572
  • - Review Article

A Review of the Biology of Eucharitidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Argentina

Javier Torréns
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 573541
  • - Research Article

Discrimination of the Social Parasite Ectatomma parasiticum by Its Host Sibling Species (E. tuberculatum)

Renée Fénéron | Chantal Poteaux | ... | Fabrice Savarit
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 238602
  • - Review Article

Nesting Associations without Interdependence: A Preliminary Review on Plesiobiosis in Ants

Orsolya Kanizsai | Gábor Lőrinczi | László Gallé
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 839181
  • - Review Article

Ant-Mimicking Spiders: Strategies for Living with Social Insects

Fadia Sara Ceccarelli
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 230601
  • - Research Article

New Host Record for Camponotophilus delvarei (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae), a Parasitoid of Microdontine Larvae (Diptera: Syrphidae), Associated with the Ant Camponotus sp. aff. textor

Gabriela Pérez-Lachaud | Michael W. Gates | Jean-Paul Lachaud
  • Special Issue
  • - Volume 2013
  • - Article ID 242037
  • - Review Article

Ant-Associated Beetle Fauna in Bulgaria: A Review and New Data

Albena Lapeva-Gjonova
Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
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