A NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant has been awarded to Dr. David R. Maddison and Ms. Wendy Moore of the University of Arizona to fund research on ant-loving bombardier beetles, known as paussines. Bombardier beetles have remarkable chemical attributes and behaviors. They deter predators by excreting toxic chemicals at 100 degrees Celsius, the boiling point of water. Paussines are one of only two groups of bombardier beetles. Many paussine species are obligate guests of ants. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the beetles may communicate with their ant hosts via chemicals and substrate borne vibrations. Adult beetles live inside their host ant nests where they feed on ant larvae. Female beetles lay their eggs inside of the ant nest and the ants raise the beetle larvae as if they were their own young. In return, the beetles excrete an unknown substance that the ants consume.
Using DNA sequence data, the grantees will determine if the ability to bombard evolved once or twice within beetles. They will also infer the pattern of evolutionary relationship among the major groups of paussine beetles. This work will result in the publication of a branching diagram depicting the evolutionary history of these beetles that will set the foundation for subsequent studies of paussine chemistry and natural history. This grant will also help fund a collecting expedition to Africa to acquire necessary beetle specimens. During this visit Ms. Wendy Moore will present her research on paussine beetles to a variety of audiences at Universities and Natural History museums in Africa. She also helps to enlist African graduate students to join her in the field. Thus this expedition will facilitate relations between US and African academics and institutions, and greatly enhance her graduate training.
