10 replies to this topic

[dspdrew]

My friend linked me to this article. This totally explains what has most likely happened to my colonies the last few years. I always suspected some sort of pathogen.

 

https://theconversat...ng-fungus-97892

 

[Kalidas]

Woah... Scary stuff man. And there really isn't much we can do about it, except maybe reduce the stress of the ants

[YsTheAnt]

Well personally, I think that means keepers of leafcutters should:

1. Try to make sure they have a large enough population to take care of their ENTIRE fungus garden.
2. Sterilize the entire setup before using.
3. Sterilize food before giving it to them

I wish the article would say where the pathogen comes from, it would make prevention much easier. Also consider feeding them a diet they would get in the wild, it may aid in getting them to produce a sustainable amount of their pesticides. I know that certain animals can't develop their specialized poison or pesticide unless given their natural diet, such as poison dart frogs. Maybe the same is true for leafcutters?

Edited by YsTheAnt, November 4 2018 - 7:21 AM.

[AnthonyP163]

Well personally, I think that means keepers of leafcutters should:

1. Try to make sure they have a large enough population to take care of their ENTIRE fungus garden.
2. Sterilize the entire setup before using.
3. Sterilize food before giving it to them

I wish the article would say where the pathogen comes from, it would make prevention much easier. Also consider feeding them a diet they would get in the wild, it may aid in getting them to produce a sustainable amount of their pesticides. I know that certain animals can't develop their specialized poison or pesticide unless given their natural diet, such as poison dart frogs. Maybe the same is true for leafcutters?

Browsed Google Scholar, found the study. There's much more info here: https://www.nature.c...467-018-04520-1

[dspdrew]

Well personally, I think that means keepers of leafcutters should:

1. Try to make sure they have a large enough population to take care of their ENTIRE fungus garden.
2. Sterilize the entire setup before using.
3. Sterilize food before giving it to them

I wish the article would say where the pathogen comes from, it would make prevention much easier. Also consider feeding them a diet they would get in the wild, it may aid in getting them to produce a sustainable amount of their pesticides. I know that certain animals can't develop their specialized poison or pesticide unless given their natural diet, such as poison dart frogs. Maybe the same is true for leafcutters?

 

Their diet is the same whether in the wild or in captivity. They aren't eating what you give them, they're eating the fungus they produce with it.

[Kalidas]

What Drew said. Though I am curious if the type of plant matter you use has an effect on the fungi nutritional values?

[dspdrew]

So after doing more reading, I'm pretty sure Escovopsis is what killed off all my colonies. Leaving their waste piles to build up in their foraging area is probably what helped create this situation. Apparently that is where the fungus blooms, and according to the study below, where the ants most likely pick the spores up that they inadvertently carry into the nest.
 
Here is the study (http://rsos.royalsoc...tent/4/5/161013) that shows how this parasitic fungus might be spread. Apparently they suspect the spores are phoretic, and are carried into the nests by the ants themselves.
 

 

Some interesting tidbits:
 

Rain-splash and water run-off would appear to be the principal dispersal agents from the midden inoculum source, rather than wind, since Escovopsis spores are not powdery and tend to stick together.

 

We posit that the fully mature spores leached from the ephemeral middens by rain action not only contaminate the surrounding soil and leaf litter but would also be dispersed further afield by run-off during the frequent downpours in the rainy season.

 

The sticky Escovopsis conidia may eventually become dislodged or be removed during general grooming within the nest, where they would remain dormant until chemicals from the fungal garden stimulate germination as shown by the dormancy experiment described here.

 

However, out of sight is not out of mind since Escovopsis consistently sporulates on the external waste piles or middens, as shown during this study; subsequently, infesting the soil and creating potential ‘minefields’ through which neighbouring leaf-cutting ants must pass.

 
 
Knowing what I know now, I think from now on I am going to remove my colonies' trash pile as often as possible, and maybe even remove their foraging containers from time to time and sterilize them. It probably was a good thing I completely sterilized all of my Acromyrmex formicariums this year before I used them.

[YsTheAnt]

Yeah I meant supplementary things such as dried insects and whatnot.

Preventing this pathogen might be the key to preventing die offs in the future. Perhaps desigining a contraption that isolated the ants from their garbage pile without preventing then from dumping stuff there would be helpful. Not sure how it would work though, just an idea.

[Kalidas]

Yeah I meant supplementary things such as dried insects and whatnot.
Preventing this pathogen might be the key to preventing die offs in the future. Perhaps desigining a contraption that isolated the ants from their garbage pile without preventing then from dumping stuff there would be helpful. Not sure how it would work though, just an idea.

Are you supposed to give them supplementry food like insects? Because I haven't seen or heard of that.

Maybe a side formicarium that isn't made for nesting but just for garbage connected to the outworld away from the nest. Maybe add some grabage in it already to "motivate" them to use it as a dump spot?

[dspdrew]

Yeah I meant supplementary things such as dried insects and whatnot.

Preventing this pathogen might be the key to preventing die offs in the future. Perhaps desigining a contraption that isolated the ants from their garbage pile without preventing then from dumping stuff there would be helpful. Not sure how it would work though, just an idea.

 

Supplementary? They only eat their fungus.

[LC3]

Didn't you often switch fungi between colonies Drew? I remember Terry or maybe it was Reacker suggesting this a while back. Also I remember reading about how it's possible that Escovopsis may be transmitted via army ant raids (Namely Nomamyrmex raids on Atta) so they probably can be transmitted via fungus to ant to fungus or fungus to fungus.