Policing behaviour towards virgin egg layers in a polygynous ponerine ant

Gobin, Bruno; Billen, Johan; Peeters, Christian

doi:10.1006/anbe.1999.1245

Cited by 86 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Kin selection has been strongly indicated as a binding force in one species of social wasps, where policing decreases with the relatedness of the workers (30). On the other hand, the role of kin selection has been eliminated altogether in favor of group selection in the Cape race of the honey bee (31) and several species of ponerine and formicine ants (32)(33)(34)(35)(36).…”

Section: Beyond the Point Of No Returnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eusociality: Origin and consequences

Wilson

Hölldobler

2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

581

436

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Section: Beyond the Point Of No Returnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eusociality: Origin and consequences

Wilson

Hölldobler

2005

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

581

436

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“…In fact, workers can identify gradual differences in the fertility of nestmates in some of these species (42,46) as well as in others (47)(48)(49). In Myrmecia gulosa, it has been experimentally shown that workers can differentiate between the hydrocarbon profiles of reproductives and infertile workers (44).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface hydrocarbons of queen eggs regulate worker reproduction in a social insect

Endler

Liebig

Schmitt

et al. 2004

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

256

219

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A hitherto largely unresolved problem in behavioral biology is how workers are prevented from reproducing in large insect societies with high relatedness. Signals of the queen are assumed to inform the nestmates about her presence in the colony, which leads to indirect fitness benefits for workers. In the ant Camponotus floridanus, we found such a signal located on queen-laid eggs. In groups of workers that were regularly provided with queen-laid eggs, larvae, and cocoons, with larvae and cocoons alone, or with no brood, only in the groups with queen-laid eggs did workers not lay eggs. Thus, the eggs seem to inform the nestmates about the queen's presence, which induces workers to refrain from reproducing. The signal on queen-laid eggs is presumably the same that enables workers to distinguish between queen-and worker-laid eggs. Despite their viability, the latter are destroyed by workers when given a choice between both types. Queen-and worker-laid eggs differ in their surface hydrocarbons in a way similar to the way fertile queens differ from workers in the composition of their cuticular hydrocarbons. When we transferred hydrocarbons from the queen cuticle to worker-laid eggs, the destruction of those eggs was significantly mitigated. We conclude that queen-derived hydrocarbon labels inform workers about the presence of a fertile queen and thereby regulate worker reproduction.

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“…30 Chimpanzees have been observed to intervene on behalf of unrelated others (de Waal, 31 1996), macaques punish conspecifics that fail to announce the finding of food (Hauser & 32 Marler, 1993), and several ant species attack and kill rogue workers attempting to lay their 33 own eggs (e.g., Gobin, Billen, & Peeters, 1999). 34 Moralistic punishment in humans is an evolutionary mystery because it is performed by 35 third parties.…”

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%