Acceptance of alien queens by the ruby ant Myrmica rubra (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Gene flow by queen flow

Abstract

Abstract. Social insect colonies, especially of ants, often include several egg-laying queens that are not always closely related to each other. At least in some cases, the ants seem to accept non-related queens into their colonies. Here I test whether the colony queen status (with or without a queen), genetic and geographic differences between source and recipient nests and the average relatedness of the workers in the recipient colony affect the acceptance of alien queens. I used fi eld collected ruby ant Myrmica rubra colonies as a model system. Only the queen status signifi cantly affected the acceptance process. Colonies without queens accepted alien queens more frequently than colonies with a queen. The nests without queens and nest fragments may act as vectors for gene fl ow by the movement of queens between nests, i.e., queen fl ow.

Queen bee acceptance under threat: Neurotoxic insecticides provoke deep damage in queen-worker relationships

“…Queen selection is a very common phenomenon in insect societies, being frequently observed in ants (Holzer et al, 2008;Meunier et al, 2011;Sorvari, 2017) and bees (Imperatriz-Fonseca and Zucchi, 1995;Pérez-Sato et al, 2007;Santos et al, 2015;Veiga et al, 2017). Queen selection by workers is fundamental to future generations of colonies in social insects and may involve genetic relatedness, chemical cues or behavior mechanisms (Holzer et al, 2008;Imperatriz-Fonseca et al, 1995;Meunier et al, 2011;Sorvari, 2017;van Zweden, 2010).…”

“…Queen selection is a very common phenomenon in insect societies, being frequently observed in ants (Holzer et al, 2008;Meunier et al, 2011;Sorvari, 2017) and bees (Imperatriz-Fonseca and Zucchi, 1995;Pérez-Sato et al, 2007;Santos et al, 2015;Veiga et al, 2017). Queen selection by workers is fundamental to future generations of colonies in social insects and may involve genetic relatedness, chemical cues or behavior mechanisms (Holzer et al, 2008;Imperatriz-Fonseca et al, 1995;Meunier et al, 2011;Sorvari, 2017;van Zweden, 2010). The final listed feature (i.e., behavior) displays a key role in this process because if new queens accurately exhibit their behaviors to colony members that are directly responsible for their selection, then the communication is successful, and their chances of being accepted are greater (Holzer et al, 2008;Imperatriz-Fonseca and Zucchi, 1995;Meunier et al, 2011;Sorvari, 2017;van Zweden, 2010).…”

“…Queen selection by workers is fundamental to future generations of colonies in social insects and may involve genetic relatedness, chemical cues or behavior mechanisms (Holzer et al, 2008;Imperatriz-Fonseca et al, 1995;Meunier et al, 2011;Sorvari, 2017;van Zweden, 2010). The final listed feature (i.e., behavior) displays a key role in this process because if new queens accurately exhibit their behaviors to colony members that are directly responsible for their selection, then the communication is successful, and their chances of being accepted are greater (Holzer et al, 2008;Imperatriz-Fonseca and Zucchi, 1995;Meunier et al, 2011;Sorvari, 2017;van Zweden, 2010). Consequently, it is not enough to emerge as being of a certain caste: a queen needs to be selected.…”