"The showrunner of the Angeles National Forest isn't a 500-pound black bear or a stealthy mountain lion. It's a small ant. The velvety tree ant forms a millions-strong "social insect carpet that spans the mountains," said Joseph Parker, a biology professor and director of the Center for Evolutionary Science at Caltech. Its massive colonies influence how fast plants grow and the size of other species' populations. That much, scientists have known."
"The beetle, Sceptobius lativentris, even smaller than the ant, turns off its own pheromones to go stealth. Then the beetle seeks out an ant - climbing on top of it, clasping its antennae in its jaws and scooping up its pheromones with brush-like legs. It smears the ants' pheromones, or cuticular hydrocarbons, on itself as a sort of mask. Ants recognize their nest-mates by these chemicals."
The velvety tree ant forms massive, millions-strong colonies that shape plant growth and animal populations across the Angeles National Forest. The rove beetle Sceptobius lativentris disables its own pheromone production to become chemically inconspicuous, then climbs ants, clasps antennae, and collects their cuticular hydrocarbons with brush-like legs. The beetle smears those hydrocarbons onto its body, causing ants to accept, feed, and care for it while the beetle consumes eggs and larvae. Cuticular hydrocarbons also serve as a waxy barrier preventing desiccation; once the beetle suppresses its own hydrocarbons it cannot restore them, creating an irreversible physiological trade-off that locks the beetle into ant dependence.
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