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, an ...

, an inquiline (from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, 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 ...

''inquilinus'', "lodger" or "tenant") is an

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

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 gophers 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 fr ...

, roots, etc. The most widely distributed types of inquiline are those found in association with the nests of social insects, especially ants 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 Blat ...

s – a single colony may support dozens of different inquiline species. The distinctions between parasites, 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 Blat ...

, 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 mak ...

, 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 Blat ...

) contrasts with the inquilinism observed in other eusocial insects such as ants and

bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfam ...

(

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typic ...

), 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 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 ...

. 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 general ...

(

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 ...

, 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 phytotelmata, 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 microcommunit ...

'', ''

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 Protozoa (singular: proto ...

'', 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 ''Nepenthes'' () is a genus of carnivorous plants, also known as tropical pitcher plants, or monkey cups, in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus includes about 170 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mo ...

'' and '' Cephalotus'' produce acidic, toxic or digestive fluids and host a limited diversity of inquilines. Other pitcher plant species like the ''Sarracenia'' or '' Heliamphora'' 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.

References

{{Biological interaction-footer Symbiosis

See also

References