Arachnologische Mitteilungen 54

Arachnologische Mitteilungen / Arachnology Letters 54: 21-23 Karlsruhe, September 2017 The buthid scorpion genus Birulatus Vachon, 1974 includes three species, all described from a single specimen (Vachon 1974, Lourenço 2002, Stathi & Lourenço 2003). Scorpions in this genus are characterized by their small size (~2 cm; Fig. 1). So far, all individuals were found only in the Levant. Vachon (1974) described Birulatus haasi Vachon, 1974 from a single female specimen collected in Schauback (Ash Shawbak), Jor- dan . Two more specimens of this species were recently col- lected (Amr et al. 2015). Lourenço (2002) and Stathi & Lourenço (2003) described two more species of this genus: B. israelensis Lourenço, 2002, from north-eastern Israel, and B. astartiae Stathi & Lourenço, 2003 from Syria. In 2011, another female specimen of B. is- raelensis was collected in the Judean Desert, Palestine (Loria & Prendini 2014, Prendini pers. comm.). During the summer and autumn of 2016, collecting ex- peditions to the area of Mehola in the Jordan Valley were conducted to find additional individuals of Birulatus . During these expeditions, 31 individuals were collected, all found ex- clusively on active foraging trails of the ant species Messor ebeninus Santschi, 1927 or around their nests. In at least six instances, scorpions were observed going in and out of the nest itself, disregarded by the ants. This report presents evi- dence that Birulatus may be myrmecophilous. Methods There were three expeditions during July, August and October 2016, each for two moonless nights and a total of six nights. The search was concentrated around Mehola, 14 km south of the town of Bét-She’an, in the Jordan valley, Israel. Long: 35.516 Lat: 32.365 (WGS84).The sites were between the al- titudes of -200m to -50m. In the first expedition, six sites were checked around this location that appeared suitable for Birulatus . Each site (~250 m²) was thoroughly searched af- ter sunset by three or four people using ultraviolet flashlights. Twenty nests of the ant species M. ebeninus were subsequently marked by red & white tape attached to a nearby plant during daytime, and checked again after sunset (both around the nest and along the ant foraging trails).The more distant surround- ings of the ant nests were searched as well. Ants were identified by Dr. Armin Ionescu of the Stein- hardt Museum of Natural History, Tel Aviv University. Scorpions were collected alive and maintained at ambient temperature. Dead scorpions where preserved in 96% ethanol. Identification was conducted using a dissecting microscope with the aid of taxonomic literature (Lourenço 1999, Lou- renço 2002, Stathi & Lourenço 2003). Sex was determined by measuring the difference in the angle, position and length of the pectines between the sexes (Polis 1990, Stockmann & Ythier 2010) or by the presence of spermathecal plugs (Peretti 2010). Results Thirty-one scorpions were collected, all found along the fo- raging trails of M. ebeninus and around their nests between July and October 2016.The scorpions demonstrated the typi- cal characters of the genus Birulatus as mentioned by Vachon (1974), Lourenço (1999), Lourenço (2002) and by Stathi & Lourenço (2003).They were morphologically similar to the B. israelensis , except with reduced lateral eyes, as observed pre- viously by L. Prendini (pers. comm.) and Loria & Prendini (2014). Of the 31 individuals collected, three were males and 28 were females (1:9 ratio). Two of the 31 individuals collec- First record of myrmecophyly in the scorpion Birulatus israelensis (Scorpiones: Buthidae) Yoram Zvik doi: 10.5431/aramit5404 Abstract . The buthid scorpion genus Birulatus Vachon, 1974 includes three species, endemic to the Levant, each from a different loca- tion in Jordan, Israel and Syria, and all described from a single specimen. Fewer than ten specimens of the genus were collected so far. Nothing is known regarding their biology and ecology. During three collecting expeditions in the summer of 2016 near Mehola in the Jordan Valley, Palestine, 31 individuals of Birulatus israelensis Lourenço, 2002 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) were collected, all found exclusively on active foraging trails of the ant species Messor ebeninus Santschi, 1927, around their nests or coming in and out of the nests. These findings suggest that Birulatus has a myrmecophilous relationship with M. ebeninus ants. Keywords: Ants, Levant, Messor Zusammenfassung: Erster Nachweis von Myrmekophilie beim Skorpion Birulatus israelensis (Scorpiones: Buthidae). Die Skor- piongattung Birulatus Vachon, 1974 (Buthidae) enthält drei in der Levante endemische Arten, die jeweils nach einem Einzelexemplar aus Jordanien, Israel und Syrien beschrieben sind. Nicht einmal 10 Exemplare der Gattung wurden bisher gesammelt und ihre Biologie und Ökologie ist unbekannt. Bei drei Sammelexpeditionen im Sommer 2016 nahe Mehola im Jordantal, Palästina, wurden 31 Exemplare von Birulatus israelensis Lourenço, 2002 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) gesammelt, alle ausschließlich gefangen an aktiven Futterstraßen der Ameisenart Messor ebeninus Santschi, 1927 im direkten Umfeld der Nester. Diese Funde legen nahe, dass Birulatus eine myrmekophile Beziehung zu M. ebeninus hat. Yoram ZVIK, Hoopoe Ornithology & Ecology Center, Yeroham, Israel & Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er-Sheva, Israel; E-mail: yzvik65@gmail.com submitted 1.4.2017, accepted 4.7.2017, online 20.7.2017 Fig. 1: Birulatus israelensis Lourenço, 2002 (photo Rony Livne)