Interactions between Centruroides infamatus C. L. Koch, 1944 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) and Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Stenomorpha sp. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Scolopendra viridis Say, 1821 (Scolopendromorpha: Scolopendridae) in Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico

Abstract

Processes such as ecosystem development, productivity, resilience, and stability are of great importance for interspecific relationships (Van Der Putten et al. 2004) and are increasingly relevant in ecosystem conservation studies (Harvey et al. 2017, Heinen et al. 2020). Arachnids, insects, and centipedes are constantly interacting with each other and with other arthropods (Polis et al. 1981), and field observations of these interactions are important to increasing our knowledge of local food webs. The scorpion genus Centruroides Marx, 1980 currently comprises 93 species and two subspecies (Ponce-Saavedra & Francke, 2019; Rein 2021), 47 of which are found in Mexico (González-Santillán et al. 2019, Ponce-Saavedra & Francke 2019, Quijano-Ravell et al. 2019). Centruroides infamatus C. L. Koch, 1944 is a species of medical importance with a known distribution in the central and Pacific regions of Mexico in the states of Aguascalientes, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Queretaro, Sinaloa, and Zacatecas (Riaño-Umbarila et al. 2017). Herein, we report nocturnal observations made during the months of September and October 2019 concerning interactions between C. infamatus and the ant Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870, the tenebrionid beetle Stenomorpha sp., and the centipede Scolopendra viridis Say, 1821. The interactions were observed in the municipality of Calvillo, Aguascalientes, Mexico (Fig. 1, 2A) and constitute the first known contributions on prey and predator interactions of C. infamatus. The climate in Calvillo is classified as BS1hw(w) (Garcia 2004)—i.e., semi-dry and semi-warm with rains primarily during the summer. Total annual precipitation is 500–700 mm, and annual mean temperature ranges from 18–21°C (INEGI 2008). The area is mostly tropical deciduous forest (INEGI 2017). Collected specimens were deposited in the Zoological Collection of the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes (CZUAA). Observations of the interactions are reported below: