Cohabitation with aggressive hosts: description of a new microhisterid species in nests of a ponerine ant with ecological notes

A new clown beetle species, Bacanius neoponerae, is described from Mexican nests of the arboreal ponerine ant Neoponera villosa found in the tank bromeliad Aechmea bracteata. Adult beetles were found in brood chambers or inner refuse piles, but also outside the ant nests, in decaying organic matter between the bromeliad leaves. No direct interactions between ants and microhisterid beetles could be observed. Several lines of evidence suggest a close relationship either with the ants, specific microhabitats within the ant nests or the bromeliads. Sample site elevation, colony size, monthly rainfall and collecting site were the main variables predicting the association. Almost half of the N. villosa colonies were associated with the microhisterids, and larger colonies favored their presence, especially during the driest months of the year. Two specimens were found in a nest of another ant species, Camponotus atriceps, also inhabiting A. bracteata. The new species is the seventh of the genus Bacanius reported from Mexico. This is the second time a species of this genus is associated with ants, and the fourth record of a histerid beetle cohabiting with ponerine ants. The small size of these beetles and their very protective body structure may facilitate their cohabitation with such aggressive hosts.