Table 1.
Assays of phoresy of two isolates of Escovopsis moelleri on legs of two attine ant species in the laboratory and field (within an Atlantic Forest fragment close to Viçosa, MG, southeastern Brazil). Sand and (filter) paper refer to the substrate on to which spores were placed for ants to walk across, while N represents individual workers (foragers) of the given ant species and colony that were tested. E. moelleri codes relate to distinct isolates, each from the municipality of Viçosa—j5 is the type strain [12], while e1 was not deposited.
| colony | mean number spores (±s.e.m.) | N | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acromyrmex subterraneus subterraneus (laboratory) | |||
| paper + E. moelleri (e1) | A | 15.91 (± 9.31) | 9 |
| B | 13.62 (± 6.13) | 8 | |
| C | 21.50 (± 10.52) | 8 | |
| paper + E. moelleri (j5) | A | 10.33 (±3.97) | 9 |
| B | 16.00 (±5.52) | 8 | |
| C | 7.33 (±2.95) | 9 | |
| control | A | 0.00 | 5 |
| B | 0.00 | 5 | |
| C | 0.00 | 5 | |
| Atta laevigata (field) | |||
| paper + E. moelleri (e1) | a | 3.00 (±1.08) | 4 |
| b | 3.66 (±2.73) | 3 | |
| paper + E. moelleri (j5) | a | 7.20 (±5.01) | 5 |
| b | 0.66 (±0.33) | 3 | |
| control | a | 2.00a (±2.00) | 4 |
| b | 0.00 | 3 | |
aThese spores (eight in total) were identifiably Escovopsis, based on their ornamentation, but were not E. moelleri.