Alice Laciny

• Doctor of Philosophy
• PostDoc Position at Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research

Recurrent, unvarying, and seemingly purposeless patterns of action and cognition are part of normal development, but also feature prominently in several neuropsychiatric conditions. Repetitive stereotyped behaviors (RSBs) can be viewed as exaggerated forms of learned habits and frequently correlate with alterations in motor, limbic, and associative...

The current interpretation of the West Palaearctic species Hebrus montanus Kolenati, 1857 is confirmed by morphological studies of the five syntypes housed in the Natural History Museum Vienna. The single male is designated as the lectotype and described in detail.

As COVID-19 emerged as a phenomenon of the total environment, and despite the intertwined and complex relationships that make humanity an organic part of the Bio- and Geospheres, the majority of our responses to it have been corrective in character, with few or no consideration for unintended consequences which bring about further vulnerability to...

Two new genera and three new species of Microveliinae are described from India: Thirumalaia ocularis gen. nov. & sp. nov. from Tamil Nadu, Eyarinella robusta gen. nov. & sp. nov. from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Geovelia fikaceki sp. nov. from Arunachal Pradesh. A male-based key to the genera of Microveliinae of India and a checklist of Indian speci...

The third part of the revision of the Philippine species of Pseudovelia Hoberlandt, 1950 treats the biogeographic region Greater Negros-Panay, and some smaller regions, i.e., Greater Mindoro, Sibuyan, and Romblon-Tablas. Four new species are described: P. kerzhneri sp.n. (Negros, Siquijor), P. mindoroensis sp.n. (Mindoro), P. sibuyana sp.n. (Sib...

A new genus of Microveliinae from New Guinea, Shaverdinia gen. n., with two new species, S. shaverdella sp. n. (type species) and S. balkei sp. n., is described. Important characters are a long pronotum of the apterous morph, short tarsi bearing simple claws, a forewing without spots, with four closed cells and in males a long protibial grasping co...

The Philippine species of Xenobates Esaki, 1927 are reviewed, with the exception of the Xenobates argentatus complex. Two species are described as new: Xenobates nypicola sp. nov. and X. riedli sp. nov. The presence of Xenobates murphyi Andersen, 2000 in the Philippines is confirmed. The taxonomically unresolved Xenobates argentatus complex is repr...

Three new species of the Rhagovelia orientalis species group are described from the Philippines: R. sophiae sp.n. from Catanduanes, R. masbatensis sp.n. from Masbate and Ticao, and R. orientaliformis sp.n. from western Mindanao. The species group now contains 30 species; 24 are endemic to the Philippines.

As social insects, ants represent extremely interaction-rich biological systems shaped by tightly integrated social structures and constant mutual exchange with a multitude of internal and external environmental factors. Due to this high level of ecological interconnection, ant colonies can harbour a diverse array of parasites and pathogens, many o...

If we want to learn how to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to embrace the complexity of this global phenomenon and capture interdependencies across scales and contexts. Yet, we still lack systematic approaches that we can use to deal holistically with the pandemic and its effects. In this Discussion, we first introduce a framework that hig...

Rhagovelia freitagi Zettel, Laciny et Pangantihon, sp. n. is described and illustrated from Cambodia. The new species belongs to the Rhagovelia sarawakensis species group. A key to the species of this group that are presently known from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam is also given.

This paper reports eight species of Rhagovelia Mayr, 1865, from the Palawan biogeographic region, including three that are new to science. Rhagovelia minutissima Hungerford & Matsuda, 1961 (Busuanga Isl.); R. estrella Zettel, 1994 (Central Palawan Isl.); R. palawanensis Zettel, 1994 (South and Central Palawan Isl.); R. matillanoi, new species (Nort...

Minor workers of some ant species belonging to the Colobopsis cylindrica (Fabricius, 1798) (COCY) species group can suicidally eject their sticky and potentially toxic mandibular gland reservoir content (MGRC) to ward off putative arthropod opponents. Since the MGRC can also be ejected non-suicidally as droplets at the mandible base, it was hypothe...

In the years 1992 and 1993, the Austrian entomologist Michael Madl collected semiaquatic Hemiptera on Nosy Boraha (Île Sainte Marie), a small island near the north-eastern coast of Madagascar. The collected material contains five species of Rhagovelia Mayr, 1865, two of which are new to science. Both Rhagovelia madlisp. nov. and Rhagovelia kalalaoe...

Background The morphological structures of organisms form tightly integrated but mutually independent character complexes (modules) linked through common development and function. Even though their abundance, diversity, and complex caste systems make camponotine ants ideal subjects to research developmental modularity and phenotypic integration, no...

Observations on a population of Rhagonycha fulva in Lower Austria revealed an infestation with ectoparasitic larval mites of the genus Trombidium (Trombidiidae). Taking into account the ambiguous results of previously published works on sexual selection in connection with parasitism, the aim of this study was to determine (1) if and how the presenc...

Forty-five volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified or annotated in the mandibular gland reservoir content (MGRC) of the Southeast Asian ant Colobopsis explodens Laciny and Zettel, 2018 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), using headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid extract...

A multidisciplinary project based in Austria and Brunei, titled “Voluntary self-sacrifice in exploding ants: a mechanism to defend coevolved microbiomes?” studies the evolution, phylogeny, and ecology of the extraordinary “exploding ants” of Southeast Asia. In addition to their enigmatic biology, they possess highly specialized minor and major work...

We report on the discovery of a new ant species belonging to the Echinopla mezgeri species group from Peninsular Malaysia. Echinopla tunkuabduljalilii sp.n. differs from Echinopla mezgeri Zettel & laciny, 2015 from Borneo by a reduced puncturation on head, mesosoma, petiole, and gaster, and by a comparatively low petiole. Collection circumstances a...

In the Philippines, several species of the Myrmicaria brunnea group occur, whereas the M. arachnoides group is unknown from the archipelago. Here we redescribe Myrmicaria aphidicola Calilung, 2000, an endemic species of Mindanao and the only Myrmicaria so far described from the Philippines, and describe three species as new to science: M. buenavent...

The complex ecology and nutrition of "exploding" ants of the Colobopsis cylindrica group (COCY) is still poorly understood. Hitherto, this group of ants was thought to feed mainly on phylloplane biofilms with only scarce observations of carnivorous behaviour. This study focusses on observations and behavioural experiments conducted on Colobopsis ba...

The aim of this manuscript is to present a protocol describing the metabolomic analysis of Bornean 'exploding ants' belonging to the Colobopsis cylindrica (COCY) group. For this purpose, the model species C. explodens is used. Ants belonging to the minor worker caste possess distinctive hypertrophied mandibular glands (MGs). In territorial combat,...

A taxonomic description of all castes of Colobopsisexplodens Laciny & Zettel, sp. n. from Borneo, Thailand, and Malaysia is provided, which serves as a model species for biological studies on “exploding ants” in Southeast Asia. The new species is a member of the Colobopsiscylindrica (COCY) group and falls into a species complex that has been repeat...

Figure S5. Pupa of C. explodens sp. n. found inside the opened natural nest

Figure S4. Autothysis as defensive behaviour in an experimental setting

Figure S1. Living workers of C. explodens sp. n. on a detached branch containing a nest fragment

Figure S3. Interior of the natural nest of C. explodens sp. n. found in a dead tree branch of S. johorensis on the forest floor

Figure S2. Natural nest of C. explodens sp. n. in a dead branch in the high canopy of S. johorensis (the main host tree for the model colony)

Colobopsis sp. nrSA is an ant species of the Southeast Asian Colobopsis cylindrica group (formerly in the genus Cam-ponotus), which is currently being studied in the course of a long-term project focusing on the ecology and evolution of its members. We herein describe the morphological diversity of a colony fragment in an artificial nest establishe...

Species of Camponotus Mayr, 1861 show a high variation of worker caste numbers, from a monomorphic worker caste to strong polymorphism along a continuous range of worker sizes or true worker dimorphism. Camponotus singularis (Smith, 1858) is used as a model for a Camponotus species with two very distinct worker castes (minors and majors) which are...

Millions of people die each year as a result of pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes. However, the morphological identification of mosquito species can be difficult even for experts. The identification of morphologically indistinguishable species, such as members of the Anopheles maculipennis complex (Diptera: Culicidae), and possible hybrids, such...

Sixteen species of Echinopla Smith, 1857 distributed west of Weber's Line are treated, including eight species described as new: E. madli sp. n. from southern Thailand and Borneo, E. wardi sp. n. from West Malaysia, E. fisheri sp. n., E. circulus sp. n., E. mezgeri sp. n., and E. subtilis sp. n. from Borneo, E. brevisetosa sp. n. and E. angustata s...

The poster is about a time- and cost-effective method to identify mosquito species without a previous DNA extraction before running a PCR and sequencing.

Background Both Dirofilaria repens and recently D. immitis are known to be endemic in Hungary. As one of several recent cases, the fatal case of a dog infested with D. immitis in Szeged, Southern Hungary, received attention from the media. Hence it was decided to catch mosquitoes in the garden where the dog lived to screen for filarioid helminths a...

Pristomyrmex pangantihoni sp. n., a new species from Mindoro Island, is described and illustrated. It is compared with P. collinus Wang, 2003 which is widespread in the Philippines.