Gloveria
Packard, 1872
Gloveria is a of in the , established by Packard in 1872. All are to southern North America, ranging from the southwestern United States through Mexico. The genus is notable for that exhibit communal foraging using trail-. Ten species are currently recognized, with distributions centered in arid and semi-arid regions of California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and Mexico.
Pronunciation
How to pronounce Gloveria: //ɡloʊˈvɛriə//
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Images
Distribution
Southern North America: southwestern United States (California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Utah) and Mexico. distributions are non-overlapping in some cases, with G. arizonensis spanning California to Texas and adjacent states, while other species are restricted to single states or Mexico.
Behavior
exhibit communal foraging , constructing shared nests and depositing trail- by dragging the surface of the abdominal tip along branch . Trail following requires reinforcement by multiple caterpillars; individually fed caterpillars cannot recruit hungry nestmates to new food sources. The system is -specific and does not respond to trails of the related Malacosoma americanum.
Similar Taxa
- MalacosomaRelated with similar communal ; Gloveria differs in chemistry (does not respond to Malacosoma trails or 5β-cholestane-3-one) and lacks individual recruitment capability
More Details
Chemical Ecology
threshold sensitivity is approximately 0.5 × 10⁻³ equivalents per centimeter of trail. The system is distinct from that of Malacosoma americanum.