Ontogeny of the Defensive Stinging Behavior of the Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta

Haight, Kevin L.

doi:10.1007/s10905-007-9114-z

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…These coincidences of venom physiology and exploratory behavior likely result in foraging efficiency benefits for H. saltator, as they lead to workers which are fully equipped (or nearly so) around the time they begin their foraging careers, and the workers that are the most dedicated to foraging are, at least initially, the most physiologically able to handle a higher prey encounter rate. A similar correlation between venom physiology and defensive behavior was also found in the fire ant, S. invicta; defensiveness (number of stings delivered and venom delivered per sting) peaked around the age workers finished venom production, i.e., when their venom sacs were full and they were therefore the most physiologically suitable nest defenders (Haight, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Patterns of venom production and temporal polyethism in workers of Jerdon’s jumping ant, Harpegnathos saltator

Haight

2012

Journal of Insect Physiology

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

Patterns of venom production and temporal polyethism in workers of Jerdon’s jumping ant, Harpegnathos saltator

Haight

2012

Journal of Insect Physiology

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“…The similarly aged workers of the singlecohort colonies must divide labor between nest tasks and foraging, removing the influence of any age-based behavioral bias. Although this robust approach has been widely used in honey bee research (Nelson, 1927;Robinson et al, 1989;Huang and Robinson, 1995), single-cohort experiments are rare in ant research (Gronenberg et al, 1996;Haight, 2006;Haight, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worker division of labor and endocrine physiology are associated in the harvester ant,Pogonomyrmex californicus

Doležal

Brent

Hölldobler

et al. 2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYIn Pogonomyrmex californicus harvester ants, an age-associated division of labor occurs in the worker caste, in which young workers perform in-nest tasks and older workers forage for food. Here, we tested whether this behavioral division is age based or age flexible, and whether it coincides with differential expression of systemic hormones with known roles in behavioral regulation. Whole-body content of juvenile hormone (JH) and ecdysteroids was determined in workers from (1) age-typical colonies, in which a typical age structure is maintained and workers transition across behaviors naturally, and (2) single-cohort colonies, which are entirely composed of same-aged workers, facilitating the establishment of age-independent division of labor. Foragers from both colony types had higher JH and lower ecdysteroid content than workers performing in-nest tasks, suggesting that age is not the sole determinant of worker behavior. This association between hormone content and behavior of P. californicus workers is similar to that previously observed in founding queens of this species. Because these hormones are key regulators of development and reproductive behavior, our data are consistent with the reproductive ground plan hypothesis (RGPH), which posits that the reproductive regulatory mechanisms of solitary ancestors were co-opted to regulate worker behavior.

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“…Smaller workers may require more insertion attempts before they are able to achieve satisfactory penetration. Considering this, and because there is no correlation between worker size and the total number of stings delivered over all sting bouts (Haight 2008), the evidence suggesting a fundamental size-related difference in the defensive effort of S. invicta workers seems weak. So, in S. invictaÕs case, the dubbing of any particular Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Worker Size and Nest Defense in Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Haight

2010

Annals of the Entomological Society of America

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Workers of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), range in size from ≈0.5 to 1.5 mm in headwidth. Such size variation is thought to enable a more efficient division of labor, because some worker sizes may be better suited to performing particular tasks. Here, I focus on the task of nest defense, where efficiency and effectiveness may depend on having appropriately sized workers respond to particular types of threats. Specifically, I tested whether the size of responding workers differs between two magnitudes of nest disturbance (light, insect-like versus heavy, vertebrate-like), and I investigated how both sting length and the amount of venom workers contain, key defensive traits, vary with worker size. Workers responding to heavy, vertebrate-like nest disturbances were larger than those responding to light, insect-like disturbances. Between the light and heavy disturbances, the proportion of minor (small) workers responding dropped, whereas that of major (large) workers increased five-fold. Although the relationship between sting length and worker size is not directly proportional, the average sting length of majors is ≈0.20 mm (or 40%) greater than that of minors, with little overlap in range. The relationship between worker size and the amount of venom they contain is also positive. So, vertebrate-magnitude nest disturbances are met with greater proportions of large S. invicta workers than are insect-magnitude disturbances, and these larger workers bring with them longer stings and larger venom arsenals, which may increase their effectiveness against such relatively large, thicker-skinned threats.

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Ontogeny of the Defensive Stinging Behavior of the Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta

Cited by 7 publications

References 12 publications

Patterns of venom production and temporal polyethism in workers of Jerdon’s jumping ant, Harpegnathos saltator

Patterns of venom production and temporal polyethism in workers of Jerdon’s jumping ant, Harpegnathos saltator

Worker division of labor and endocrine physiology are associated in the harvester ant,Pogonomyrmex californicus

Worker Size and Nest Defense in Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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