![Wyeomyia smithii 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Wyeomyia_smithii_1.jpg)
In
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
, an inquiline (from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''inquilinus'', "lodger" or "tenant") is an
animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
that lives
commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms such as insects may live in the homes of
gopher
Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...
s or the garages of humans and feed on debris,
fungi
A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...
, roots, etc. The most widely distributed types of inquiline are those found in association with the nests of social insects, especially
ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
s and
termite
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...
s – a single colony may support dozens of different inquiline species. The distinctions between
parasites
Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...
,
social parasites, and inquilines are subtle, and many species may fulfill the criteria for more than one of these, as inquilines do exhibit many of the same characteristics as parasites. However, parasites are specifically ''not'' inquilines, because by definition they have a deleterious effect on the host species, while inquilines have not been confirmed to do so.
In the specific case of
termites
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattod ...
, the term "''inquiline''" is restricted to termite species that inhabit other termite species' nests whereas other arthropods cohabiting termitaria are called "''termitophiles''". It is important to reiterate that inquilinism in termites (
Blattodea
Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, cladistically ...
, formerly
Isoptera
Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattod ...
) contrasts with the inquilinism observed in other eusocial insects such as
ants
Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...
and
bees (
Hymenoptera), even though the term "''inquiline''" has been adopted in both cases. A major distinction is that, while in the former the species mostly resemble forms of
commensalism
Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction ( symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit fr ...
, the latter includes species currently confirmed as social parasites, thus, being closely related to
parasitism.
Inquilines are known especially among the
gall wasps
Gall wasps, also incorrectly called gallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1,300 species of this genera ...
(
Cynipidae
Gall wasps, also incorrectly called gallflies, are hymenopterans of the family Cynipidae in the wasp superfamily Cynipoidea. Their common name comes from the galls they induce on plants for larval development. About 1,300 species of this gener ...
family). In the sub-family Synerginae, this mode of life predominates. These insects are similar in structure to the true gall-inducing wasp but do not produce
galls
Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...
, instead, they deposit their eggs within those of other species. They infest certain species of galls, such as those of the blackberry and some oak galls, in large numbers, and sometimes more than one kind occur in a single gall. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of these inquilines is their frequent close resemblance to the insect that produces the gall they infest.
Discover Life: Family Cynipidae
Subfamily Synerginae visited 1 January 2011
The term ''inquiline'' has also been applied to aquatic invertebrates that spend all or part of their life cycles in phytotelma
Phytotelma (plural phytotelmata) is a small water-filled cavity in a terrestrial plant. The water accumulated within these plants may serve as the habitat for associated fauna and flora.
A rich literature in German summarised by Thienemann (19 ...
ta, water-filled structures produced by plants. For example, ''Wyeomyia smithii
''Wyeomyia smithii'', the pitcher plant mosquito, is an inquiline mosquito that completes its pre-adult life cycle in the phytotelma of—that is, the water contained by—the purple pitcher plant, ''Sarracenia purpurea''. In this microcommunity ...
'', ''Metriocnemus knabi
''Metriocnemus knabi'', the pitcher plant midge, is an inquiline invertebrate found only in the phytotelma of the purple pitcher plant, ''Sarracenia purpurea''. In this microcommunity of bacteria, rotifers, protozoa, and other dipteran larva l ...
'', and ''Habrotrocha rosa
''Habrotrocha rosa'' is a bdelloid rotifer that has been found in leaf litter, soil, and moss in Europe and New Zealand and also in North America within the pitchers of ''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant. It is one of many speci ...
'' are three invertebrates that make up part of the microecosystem within the pitchers of ''Sarracenia purpurea
''Sarracenia purpurea'', the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae.
Description
Like other species of ''Sarracenia'', ''S. purpurea'' obtains most ...
''.[Cochran-Stafira, D. L. and von Ende, C. N. (1998). Integrating bacteria into food webs: studies with ''Sarracenia purpurea'' inquilines. ''Ecology'', 79(3): 880–898.] Some species of pitcher plants like the '' Nepenthes'' and ''Cephalotus
''Cephalotus'' ( or ; Greek: ''κεφαλή'' "head", and ''οὔς''/''ὠτός'' "ear", to describe the head of the anthers) is a genus which contains one species, ''Cephalotus follicularis'' the Albany pitcher plant, a small carnivorous pi ...
'' produce acidic, toxic or digestive fluids and host a limited diversity of inquilines. Other pitcher plant species like the ''Sarracenia'' or ''Heliamphora
The genus ''Heliamphora'' ( or ; Greek: ''helos'' "marsh" and ''amphoreus'' " amphora") contains 23 species of pitcher plants endemic to South America.McPherson, S., A. Wistuba, A. Fleischmann & J. Nerz 2011. '' Sarraceniaceae of South America''. ...
'' host diverse organisms and depend to a large extent on their symbionts for prey utilization.[Adlassnig, W., Peroutka, M., & Lendl, T. (2011). Traps of carnivorous pitcher plants as a habitat: composition of the fluid, biodiversity and mutualistic activities. ''Annals Of Botany'', 107(2), 181–194.]
See also
* Mutualism (biology)
References
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Symbiosis