The omnipresence of pathogens makes them a strong selective pressure for most organisms, generating a variety of defensive responses to fight them. One mechanism by which organisms can release this pressure is avoidance of the pathogens in a spatial or temporal context. To date, only a few biological systems provide evidence that habitat selection can favour an escape from pathogens. An abiotic factor that varies across habitats and influences the evolution of host life history is humidity, which correlates positively with pathogen levels in the environment. Entomopathogenic fungi are abundant in soils and are obligate killers that require humidity for host infection. Antlions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) are typical soil‐dwelling insects that can live several years as larvae, buried in dry and fine substrates where they build their traps. This lifestyle may release them from selective pressure by entomopathogenic fungi. Here, we investigated whether living underground provides protection against the generalist entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bals.‐Criv.) Vuill. in the antlion Myrmeleon timidus Gerstaecker under low or high humidity in the environment. Individuals that were inoculated with the fungus showed greater survival rates when buried in dry sand compared to individuals that were kept half‐buried or without sand, with similar outcomes across humidity levels. Given that the diversity of antlions is higher in arid environments, this benefit obtained from pit‐building behaviour seems to be a coincidental by‐product of this foraging strategy, which would be particularly beneficial in environments where fungal pathogens are common.

中文翻译：

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生活在地下的好处：蚁狮 Myrmeleon timidus 中的寄生虫释放案例

病原体的无所不在使它们对大多数生物体产生强大的选择压力，从而产生各种防御反应来对抗它们。生物体释放这种压力的一种机制是在空间或时间环境中避开病原体。迄今为止，只有少数生物系统提供证据表明栖息地选择有利于逃避病原体。一个因栖息地而异并影响宿主生活史演变的非生物因素是湿度，它与环境中的病原体水平呈正相关。昆虫病原真菌在土壤中含量丰富，是需要湿度才能感染宿主的专性杀手。蚁狮（Neuroptera：Myrmeleontidae）是典型的土栖昆虫，它们可以作为幼虫存活数年，埋在干燥和细密的基质中，在那里建立陷阱。这种生活方式可能会使它们摆脱昆虫病原真菌的选择压力。在这里，我们调查了生活在地下是否可以提供针对通用昆虫病原真菌 Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill 的保护。在环境中的低或高湿度下的蚁狮 Myrmeleon timidus Gerstaecker。与半埋或不埋沙的个体相比，接种了真菌的个体在埋在干沙中时显示出更高的存活率，在不同湿度水平下的结果相似。鉴于在干旱环境中蚁狮的多样性更高，这种从筑坑行为中获得的好处似乎是这种觅食策略的巧合副产品，这在真菌病原体常见的环境中尤其有益。