Talk:Inquiline

Logical Inconsistencies

From the intro on Obligate parasite:

• "It is advantageous for the parasite to preserve the health of their host when this is compatible with their nutritional and reproductive requirements, except when the death of the host is necessary for transmission"

From the intro on Inquiline:

• "However, parasites are specifically not inquilines, because by definition they have a deleterious effect on the host species, while inquilines do not"

Niubrad (talk) 05:25, 1 April 2015 (UTC)

---

Definition needs review (parasitism)

Inquiline is both a simpler and more complex definition than put forth here. At its simplest it is defined as "An animal that lives in the nest of another species" (Borror and White, Insects, (Peterson Field Guide). Some authors include "predatory inquiline" and "permanent social parasites" in the definition. I believe the blanket statement in the first paragraph of this article, "However, parasites are specifically not inquilines, because by definition they have a deleterious effect on the host species, while inquilines do not," is at least overly rigid, especially because of the lack of any citation, and needs to be reviewed and revised.

Borror and White led me down this path, describing some Megachilidae as inquiline. Most (Hymenoptera) reference materials that I have checked refer to kleptoparasitic bees or cuckoo bees, but do not index the term inquiline -- including The Bees of the World, 2nd Ed, Michener (2007); Bees of the World, O'Toole and Raw, (1999); and California Bees and Blooms, Frankie, Thorp, Coville, Ertter (2014). That being said, here are some quotes that lead me to the conclusion that the term is not quite correctly defined, starting with two quotes from a textbook by Gullan and Cranston.

Thus, integrated inquilines are incorporated into their hosts’ social lives by behavioral modification of both parties, whereas non-integrated inquilines are adapted ecologically to the nest, but do not interact socially with the host. Predatory inquilines may negatively affect the host, whereas other inquilines may merely shelter within the nest, or give benefit, such as by feeding on nest debris.

And, same chapter:

Inquilinism is not restricted to non-social insects that breach the defenses (section 12.4.3) and abuse the hospitality of social insects. Even amongst the social Hymenoptera some ants may live as temporary or even permanent social parasites in the nests of other species. A reproductive female inquiline gains access to a host nest and usually kills the resident queen. In some cases, the intruder queen produces workers, which eventually take over the nest. In others, the inquiline usurper produces only males and reproductives — the worker caste is eliminated and the nest survives only until the workers of the host species die off.

Reference: The Insects: An Outline of Entomology, P. J. Gullan, P. S. Cranston (Ch 12.3: Inquilines and Parasites of Social Insects)

https://books.google.com/books?id=lF5hBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT889&lpg=PT889&dq=inquiline+insects&source=bl&ots=ycbmX783U5&sig=EUts1wxn0TxB3Iv6V72q0QCwKIo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwje9dG70crWAhUKymMKHYkOA8oQ6AEIUzAI#v=onepage&q=inquiline%20insects&f=false

A Google search further turns up the following text on Allodapine bees, Communal Rearing, where some social inquilines are described as parasitic.

... Inquilinism has evolved repeatedly within the Allodapini, with parasitic species recorded from seven genera ([seven citations]). Allodapine inquilines mostly parasitize hosts with which they appear to be closely related phylogentically ([two citations]).

Reference: The Evolution of Social Behaviour in Insects and Arachnids - Jae C. Choe, Bernard J. Crespi (pg 337)

https://books.google.com/books?id=qkHHO_SmM_kC&pg=PA66&lpg=PA66&dq=inquiline+insects&source=bl&ots=KIE-F3Ma0P&sig=b0FPmXQV8MtvsKT4OpBJdjO3VI0&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwje9dG70crWAhUKymMKHYkOA8oQ6AEINjAD#v=onepage&q=inquiline%20insects&f=false

At this point I'm considering whether I want to try to make a revision here as I extensively rewrite another article -- there is a potential edit war here that I do not want to wade into. GeeBee60 (talk) 16:32, 29 September 2017 (UTC)