Ants Myrmica rubra L. and M. scabrinodis Nylander as Intermediate Hosts of a Cestode

Abstract

DURING recent ecological investigations of the ant fauna of heather moor in the west of Scotland, two of the commonest species in this region, Myrmica rubra L.¹ and M. scabrinodis Nylander, have been found to be acting as the intermediate hosts of a cestode. The cysticercoids lie freely in the body cavity and are extruded as soon as the cuticle is ruptured. They are ellipsoidal in shape (Fig. 1), measuring 530–700µ by 340–400µ are very active and contain numerous calcareous granules. No suggestion of a cercomere has yet been seen. The larval scolex is often extruded very soon after the cysticercoid is removed from the ant and placed in saline. In most cases the scolex breaks away from the cyst, the rupture occurring at the base of the larval neck, and thereafter it progresses by movements of the suckers.