# Attaphila

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***Attaphila*** is a genus of [cockroaches](/source/Cockroach) that live as [myrmecophiles](/source/Myrmecophily) in the nests of [leaf-cutting ants](/source/Leafcutter_ant).[1] They have been suggested to feed on the [fungus](/source/Fungus) their host ants farm,[1][2][3] or on the cuticular [lipids](/source/Lipid) of ant workers.[4] *Attaphila* are not attacked by host workers because they blend into the colony by mimicking the odour of their hosts ants.[3] Female *Attaphila* are wingless and males have [reduced wings](/source/Brachyptery). The cockroaches are [phoretic](/source/Phoresis) and can disperse to new host colonies by riding on virgin host [queens](/source/Queen_ant) (female alates) departing on their [mating flight](/source/Nuptial_flight)[2] and by hitchhiking on leaves[5][6][7] carried by leaf-cutter ant foragers returning to their nests, or by following leaf-cutter ant [pheromone trails](/source/Pheromone_trail)[8]

Six species of *Attaphila* have been described:

- *[Attaphila fungicola](/source/Attaphila_fungicola)* Wheeler, 1900
- *[Attaphila bergi](/source/Attaphila_bergi)* Bolívar, 1901
- *[Attaphila aptera](/source/Attaphila_aptera)* Bolivar, 1905
- *[Attaphila schuppi](/source/Attaphila_schuppi)* Bolivar, 1905
- *[Attaphila sexdentis](/source/Attaphila_sexdentis)* Bolivar, 1905
- *[Attaphila flava](/source/Attaphila_flava)* Gurney, 1937

## References

1. Wheeler, William Morton (November 1900). "A New Myrmecophile from the Mushroom Gardens of the Texan Leaf-Cutting Ant". *The American Naturalist*. **34** (407): 851–862. [doi:10.1086/277806](https://doi.org/10.1086/277806). [ISSN 0003-0147](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0003-0147)

1. Phillips, Z. I.; Zhang, M. M.; Mueller, U. G. (2017-02-11). "Dispersal of Attaphila fungicola, a symbiotic cockroach of leaf-cutter ants". *Insectes Sociaux*. **64** (2): 277–284. [doi:10.1007/s00040-016-0535-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-016-0535-6). [ISSN 0020-1812](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0020-1812). [S2CID 253645348](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:253645348)

1. Nehring, Volker; Dani, Francesca R.; Calamai, Luca; Turillazzi, Stefano; Bohn, Horst; Klass, Klaus-Dieter; d’Ettorre, Patrizia (2016-08-05). "Chemical disguise of myrmecophilous cockroaches and its implications for understanding nestmate recognition mechanisms in leaf-cutting ants". *BMC Ecology*. **16** (1): 35. [doi:10.1186/s12898-016-0089-5](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-016-0089-5). [ISSN 1472-6785](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1472-6785). [PMC 4974750](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4974750). [PMID 27495227](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27495227)

1. Waller, D.A. & Moser, John C. (1990). ["Invertebrate enemies and nest associates of the leaf-cutting ant *Atta texana* (Buckley) (Formicudae, Attini)"](https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/22366). *In: Applied Myrmecology: A World Perspective, P. 256-273*

1. Phillips, Z.I.; Reding, L.; Farrior, C.E. (2021). "The early life of a leaf-cutter ant colony constrains symbiont vertical transmission and favors horizontal transmission". *Ecology and Evolution*. **11** (17): 11718–11729. [doi:10.1002/ece3.7900](https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7900). [ISSN 2045-7758](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/2045-7758). [PMC 8427574](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8427574). [PMID 34522335](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34522335)

1. Phillips, Z.I. (2021). "Emigrating together but not establishing together: A cockroach rides ants and leaves". *The American Naturalist*. **197** (1): 138–145. [doi:10.1086/711876](https://doi.org/10.1086/711876). [PMID 33417528](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33417528). [S2CID 225007111](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:225007111)

1. ["Catalogue of Life - 2011 Annual Checklist :: Search all names"](http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2011/search/all/key/attaphila/match/1). *www.catalogueoflife.org*. Retrieved 2018-10-26.

1. Moser, J. C. (1964-03-06). "Inquiline Roach Responds to Trail-Marking Substance of Leaf-Cutting Ants". *Science*. **143** (3610): 1048–1049. [Bibcode:1964Sci...143.1048M](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1964Sci...143.1048M). [doi:10.1126/science.143.3610.1048](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.143.3610.1048). [ISSN 0036-8075](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0036-8075). [PMID 17733069](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17733069). [S2CID 42538774](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:42538774)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Attaphila](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attaphila) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attaphila?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.