DOI: 10.5061/dryad.05qfttffb
title: Lasius flavus ants protect root aphid eggs from predators and pathogens during winter hibernation

description: Cooperative brood care is key to the ecology and evolution of social
 insects. Interestingly, social insects may also care for the brood of
 other species that dwell in their nests. This study explores how the
 yellow meadow ant Lasius flavus cares for the eggs of the root aphid
 Anoecia zirnitsi and how this service affects the resistance of aphid eggs
 to predators and pathogens. In winter, A. zirnitsi eggs were found
 exclusively in L. flavus nest chambers near the ant brood. Laboratory
 experiments showed that L. flavus detects, transports, piles, and grooms
 the aphid eggs. We could recapitulate these caring behaviours in L. flavus
 using glass dummies coated with chemical cues extracted from the aphid egg
 surface. Other ant species did not collect nor nurse the eggs, suggesting
 a specific interaction between L. flavus and A. zirnitsi. We further
 demonstrated that L. flavus strongly increased the aphid eggs'
 protection against predators and fungal pathogens. Ants, however, were not
 essential for the eggs to hatch and aphid nymphs were capable of
 independently colonizing grass roots. Our research highlights the crucial
 protection services ants provide to root aphids, while the potential
 benefits of these heterospecific interactions to ants remain unclear.
description: GENERAL INFORMATION 1. Title of Dataset: "Lasius flavus ants protect
 root aphid eggs from predators and pathogens during winter hibernation”
 under review in R Soc Open Science 2. Author Information A. Principal
 Investigator and first author Contact Information Name: Thomas Parmentier
 Institution: Université Libre de Bruxelles Address: Brussels, Belgium
 Email: [Thomas.Parmentier@ulb.be](mailto:Thomas.Parmentier@ulb.be) B. Last
 Author Contact Information Name: Nicky Wybouw Institution: Ghent
 University Address: Gent, Belgium Email:
 [Nicky.Wybouw@ugent.be](mailto:Nicky.Wybouw@ugent.be) 3. Date of data
 collection (single date, range, approximate date): 2014-2024 4. Geographic
 location of data collection: Belgium 5. Information about funding sources
 that supported the collection of the data: This work was supported by the
 F.R.S.-FNRS Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (Chercheur qualifié Crédit
 n° 1.C.094.25F to T.P.; and the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
 Vlaanderen—FWO (FWO Postdoc junior: 1203020N to T.P.) SHARING/ACCESS
 INFORMATION 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: CC0 1.0 Universal
 (CC0 1.0) Public Domain 2. Links to publications that cite or use the
 data: Parmentier T, Wybouw N (2025). Lasius flavus ants protect root aphid
 eggs from predators and pathogens during winter hibernation. accepted in R
 Soc Open Science 1. Links to other publicly accessible locations of the
 data: None 2. Links/relationships to ancillary data sets: None 3. Was data
 derived from another source? No 4. Recommended citation for this dataset:
 Parmentier T, Wybouw N (2025). Lasius flavus ants protect root aphid eggs
 from predators and pathogens during winter hibernation. accepted in R Soc
 Open Science DATA Overview The data is stored in 6 txt. files:
 coordinates.txt, retrieval.txt, glass beads.txt, fungus.txt,
 predation.txt, hatching.txt, first file "coordinates.txt"
 contains the coordinates of the sampled nests following columns can be
 found: ``` nest: nest identity (categorical data) site: site where the
 nest was found (categorical) longitude_d: longitude degrees (integer)
 longitude_m: longitude minutes (integer) longitude_s: longitude seconds
 (decimal) latitude_d: latitude degrees (integer) latitude_m: latitude
 minutes (integer) latitude_s: latitude seconds (decimal) ``` second file
 "retrieval.txt" contains the data belonging to the paragraph
 "Only Lasius flavus carries Anoecia zirnitsi eggs to safety from the
 ant panel". following columns can be found: ``` id: identity of the
 trial per replicate (categorical) set: identity of replicate (categorical)
 nest: nest identity (categorical data) trophobiont: levels: aphid_egg,
 ant_larva, egg_hexane_treated, egg_hexane_methanol_treated (categorical)
 host: species identity of the host (categorical) time: time point
 (integer, unit: minute) at which the status (see next column) is checked
 status: 1 = picked up by the ants at time point, O = not picked up at time
 point (binary) ``` third file "glass beads.txt" contains the
 data belonging to the paragraph "A chemical cue on Anoecia zirnitsi
 eggs triggers the care-taking behaviour of Lasius flavus". here we
 tested whether the extract of root aphid eggs makes glass beads attractive
 following columns can be found: ``` id: identity of the trial per
 replicate (categorical) set: identity of replicate (categorical) nest:
 nest identity (categorical data) treatment: levels:
 glass_bead_with_hexane_methanol_extract, glass_bead_control (categorical)
 host: species identity of the host (categorical) time: time point
 (integer, unit: minute) at which the status (see next column) is checked
 status: 1 = picked up by the ants at time point, O = not picked up at time
 point (binary) ``` fourth file "fungus.txt" contains the data
 belonging to the paragraph "Lasius flavus protects root aphid eggs
 against fungal pathogens" following columns can be found: ``` id:
 identity of the trial (categorical) treatment: with (level: plus) or
 without ants (level: min) (categorical) id: identity of the trial
 (categorical) nest: nest identity (categorical data) soil_added_g: soil
 added to the petri dish (decimal in g) start: number of non-infected eggs
 at start experiment (integer) end: number of non-infected eggs at end
 experiment (integer) ``` fifth file "predation.txt" contains the
 data belonging to the paragraph "Lasius flavus protects root aphid
 eggs against a predatory rove beetle" following columns can be found:
 ``` treatment: with (level: plus) or without ants (level: min)
 (categorical) id: identity of the trial (categorical) start: number of
 not-consumed eggs at start experiment (integer) end: number of
 not-consumed eggs at end experiment (integer) ``` sixth file
 "hatching.txt" contains the data belonging to the paragraph
 Lasius flavus is not essential for egg hatching and host plant attachment
 of Anoecia zirnitsi" following columns can be found: ``` replicate:
 identity of the replicate (categorical) treatment: with (level: ant_plus)
 or without ants (level: ant_min) (categorical) date: day when experiment
 started (integer) hatched: level: 1 = egg hatched, level 0 = egg not
 hatched (binary) time_after_start: days to hatching from initial time
 point (integer) ``` CODE OVERVIEW The code to run the analyses are stored
 in a .R file, it can be found under "Rscript_Parmentier and
 Wybouw_root aphid eggs.R"