Wagner, H.C

Crematogaster scutellaris and its putative mimic Camponotus lateralis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are underrepresented in feces of ant-eating South-Alpine wall-lizards (Podarcis muralis maculiventris)

The common Mediterranean myrmicine ant Crematogaster scutellaris (Olivier, 1792) was suggested to represent a model of the mimetic formicine ant Camponotus lateralis (Olivier, 1792). Typically, both species share a reddish head, while large parts of the body are blackish. The adaptive value of this putative color-mimicry has not yet been understood. To test the aversion of predators against Crematogaster scutellaris and the mimicry in Camponotus lateralis, feces of South-Alpine wall-lizards (Podarcis muralis maculiventris (Werner, 1891)), collected in a territory of Crematogaster scutellaris near Pula (Istria, Croatia), were investigated. Of 113 fecal pellets, 64 (57%) contained ant material of 18 species and 175 individuals, of which 104 were workers. At 48% of items, ants were by far the most frequently recorded preytaxon. While Crematogaster scutellaris represented 93% of all living ant workers visible on the substrate surface of the habitat (hereafter, substrate surface), its portion was with 4% strongly underrepresented in the feces. Of the four species of the genus Camponotus recorded in the habitat, all except C. lateralis were fully blackish and thus did not resemble the aposematic color of Crematogaster scutellaris. Camponotus lateralis represented 75% of all living Camponotus workers visible on the substrate surface but only 3% in the feces. Several hypotheses are discussed to explain the disharmony between trophic availability and consumption; among them, unpalatability in Crematogaster scutellaris as well as Batesian mimicry or trail sharing in Camponotus lateralis are most plausible.

Open access, licensed under CC BY 4.0. © 2025 The Author(s).

Batesian mimicry, aposematism, Camponotus piceus, myrmecophagy, Istria, Mediterranean