DOI: 10.5061/dryad.cjsxksnf7
title: Data from: Ant responses in a lycaenid-ant symbiosis are not facilitated by cuticular compounds alone

description: Initiating partnerships in protective symbioses can be asymmetrical if
 there is risk of attack from their symbionts. Myrmecophiles may encounter
 chemically mediated recognition systems that allow the host ants to
 distinguish nestmates from natural enemies, including non-nestmate
 conspecifics. The immature stages of the lycaenid butterfly Jalmenus
 evagoras form an obligate symbiosis with workers of Iridomyrmex mayri that
 protect them against natural enemies. However, first instar larvae cannot
 anticipate this colony-specific chemical recognition system, since they
 are unlikely to encounter workers from the same colony that tended their
 mother. We show experimentally that workers of I. mayri can use chemical
 signals alone to distinguish between conspecifics and the larvae of J.
 evagoras; between nestmate and non-nestmate conspecifics; and between
 larvae tended by nestmate and non-nestmate conspecifics. 
 Nevertheless, we also show experimentally that while workers paid more
 attention to 4th than to 2nd instar larvae, they did not respond more
 aggressively to larvae that had been tended by non-nestmate versus
 nestmate workers. These data suggest that workers pay attention to other
 signals, perhaps via tactile, visual or vibratory sensory modalities,
 thereby allowing the butterfly myrmecophiles to mitigate the risks
 associated with the chemically mediated colony-specific recognition
 systems of their ant hosts.
description: # Ant responses in a lycaenid-ant symbiosis are not facilitated by
 cuticular compounds alone
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cjsxksnf7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cjsxksnf7) # Description of the data and file structure The data comprise the results of two field experiments involving behavioural assays. There are two files: (i) the results of experiments investigating the response of ants to chemical cues only, and (ii) the results of experiments investigating the response of ants to either 2nd or 4th instar larvae. **i) Ant response to cuticular extract:** workers were placed into a petri dish (80 mm diameter by 15 mm height) that contained one of five cuticular extract treatments, in which a piece of filter paper had been immersed in the eluate of (i) nestmate ant workers; (ii) non-nestmate ant workers; (iii) larvae of *J. evagoras* from the same tree (and thus tended by nestmate ant workers); (iv) larvae of *J. evagoras* from a different tree (and thus tended by workers from another colony); and (v) a hexane control. **ii) Ant response to larvae:** workers were placed into a petri dish (80 mm diameter by 15 mm height) that contained, in a block design, a single 2nd or 4th instar larva of *J. evagoras* that had been collected from either the same or different tree as the focal workers. #### i) File: Zemeitat\_et\_al\_filter\_paper\_assays.csv, which has the following factors and variables: **Colony/Larvae:** Cuticular compounds obtained from Nestmates; Non-nestmates; Familiar larvae; unfamiliar larvae. Note: cells in this column are blank if the filter paper treatment is Control (hexane only) **Species:** *I. mayri* (tending ant); *J. evagoras* (lycaenid larvae). Note: cells in this column are blank if the filter paper treatment is Control (hexane only) **Treatment:** Same – (either same ant colony for ants, or same tending ant colony for larvae); Different – (either different ant colony for ants, or different tending ant colony for larvae); Control – hexane only **Replicate ID:** Colony identity of the focal ant **Groom/min:** frequency (per minute) the antennae are drawn across the first legs of the worker while standing on the filter paper **Drag/min:** frequency (per minute) the filter paper was picked up by an ant using the mandibles and dragged/carried around the petri dish **L Anten/min:** frequency (per minute) the antenna is applied to the filter paper more than six times **S Anten/min:** frequency (per minute) the antenna is applied to the filter paper up to six times **Bite/min:** frequency (per minute) the ants use their mandibles to bite the filter paper #### ii) File: Zemeitat\_et\_al\_larval\_assays.csv, which has the following factors and variables: **Colony ID: i**dentification **Treatment:** Same – (larva collected from same tree as the focal ants); Different – (larva collected from different tree from the focal ants) **Larvae:** Second – second instar larva; Fourth – fourth instar larva **Bites/min:** frequency (per minute) the ants use their mandibles to bite the larva **Antennate/min:** frequency (per minute) the antenna is applied to the larva more than six times