1. The colonies of the Spanish desert ant Cataglyphis iberica are polydomous. This study describes the temporal and spatial patterns of the polydomy in this species at two different sites, and presents analyses of its role in reducing the attacks of the queen over sexual brood, and in allowing better habitat exploitation.2. The spatial distribution of nests was clumped while colonies were distributed randomly. Mean nearest neighbour distance ranged from 3.4 to 7.0 m for nests and from 12.3 to 14.1 m for colonies. Distance of foragers searching for food varied among nests: mean values were between 6.1 and 12.6 m.3. At both sites, the maximum number of nests per colony occurred in summer, during the maximum activity period of the species. Colonies regrouped at the end of this period but overwintered in several nests.4. Nest renewal in C. iberica colonies was high and showed great temporal variability: nests changed (open, close, re‐open) continuously through the activity season and/or among years. The lifetime of up to 55% of nests was only 1–3 months.5. Polydomy in C. iberica might decrease the interactions between the queen and the sexual brood. In all colonies excavated just before the mating period, the nest containing the queen did not contain any virgin female. Females were in the queenless nests of the colony.6. The results also suggest that polydomous C. iberica colonies may enhance habitat exploitation because foraging activity per colony increases with nest number. The relationship between total prey input and foraging efficiency and number of nests per colony attains a plateau or even decreases after a certain colony size (four to six nests). This value agrees with the observed mean number of nests per colony in C. iberica.
Nestmate recognition was studied in the polydomous antCataglyphis iberica (Formicinae) in the laboratory. The study examined six colonies collected from two different populations 600 km apart in the Iberian peninsula (Barcelona and Murcia). Introduction of an alien worker into an allocolonial arena always ended in death to the intruder, demonstrating that in this species societies are extremely closed. Dyadic encounters composed of individuals from different colonies in a neutral arena confirmed the existence of high aggression between allocolonial individuals. We also investigated variability in the composition of the major cuticular hydrocarbons between the colonies used in the behaviorial tests. There were marked quantitative differences between the profiles of ants from the two populations, suggesting that the populations are completely segregated. Cuticular profiles within a population tended to be more similar, but were nevertheless colony specific. The degree of colony closure inC. iberica seemed to be independent of geographic distance since aggression between the colonies was always at its maximum, irrespective of their population origin.
Abstract. . Societies of the ant Cataglyphis iberica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) comprise several satellite queenless nests around a queenright nest. During spring, at the end of hibernation, the incidence of adult transport between these nests is high, but it decreases during summer. Quantitative analyses of the contents of postpharyngeal glands of transporter and transportee ants reveal the amounts of hydrocarbons to be lower in the latter, indicating that these ants are generally younger. Moreover, the more diverse composition of the transportees' secretion may reflect their individual makeup. Transporters, in contrast, maintained a uniform colony odour uirough trophallactic exchanges before entering hibernation. The odour disparity between the transportees and the general colony odour may stimulate the transporters to bear them to the nest containing the queen where they can obtain the colony odour via trophallaxis. The intense traffic between satellite nests in the spring may thus be the means by which a uniform colonial odour is regained after hibernation. Adult transport seems also to be necessary since the young transportee ants are not able to orient themselves and find the other nests.
International audienceIn this paper we analyze emigration from nests by the polydomous ant Cataglyphis iberica. Social carrying of workers of this species between different nests of the colony is frequent. In Bellaterra (Barcelona, NE Spain), we monitored field emigration of C. iberica by noting for each nest the migratory behavior of C. iberica workers and, when the nests were attacked by another ant species, Camponotus foreli, we noted the number of C. foreli workers involved in the attacks. Emigration of C. iberica from nests was highly variable. We suggest the main factor determining emigration by this species was attack by workers of C. foreli, so emigration from C. iberica nests was much faster when harassment by C. foreli increased. The system of multiple nests of C. iberica enables this species to abandon attacked nests and to reinstall their population in other nests of the same colony. This reduces risk to the colonies because the route between the different nests is well known by transporter workers
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