A frog uses chemical recognition to live in colonies of leaf-cutting ants

de Lima Barros, A., López-Lozano, J.L. & Lima, A.P. Behav Ecol Sociobiol (2016). doi:10.1007/s00265-016-2223-y

The natural ant repellent secreted by a small Amazonian frog allows it to live peacefully among leaf-cutter ants in Brazil. Photo by Albertina Pimentel Lima

Abstract.

Chemical-based mimicry and camouflage are known to be employed by invertebrate parasites of social insect colonies, but the use of this strategy by vertebrates to avoid being detected by social insects has received less attention. In this paper, we examine the hypothesis that frog Lithodytes lineatus has skin chemicals that imitate chemical recognition used by leaf-cutting ants of genus Atta. We show that individuals of Lithodytes lineatus were never attacked by the leaf-cutting ants of genus Atta, while 100 % of four other anuran species were. In addition, none of the ten individuals of frog Rhinella major coated with skin extracts of frog L. lineatus were attacked, whereas controls (coated with ultrapure water) were attacked on each occasion. Our results demonstrate that the skin of frog Lithodytes lineatus has chemicals that prevent the attack of both species of leaf-cutting ants, Atta laevigata and Atta sexdens.