Queen aggression, pleometrotic advantage and brood raiding in the ant Veromessor pergandei (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Cooperation among unrelated individuals: the ant foundress case

“…1c, Table 2) -is directly attributable to the presence of extra queens. This is because the queens draw on their limited body reserves to produce the workers 16 ; multiple queens that contribute to egg-laying 15,28 produce more workers [13][14][15] and, in some cases, produce them earlier 14,15 . The number of first workers directly determines colony success at brood raiding, as shown in an experiment in which adding workers to one-queen colonies shortly before brood raiding increases their success 29 .…”

“…Queens all contribute to nest excavation (with queens differing Multiple-queen colonies are more successful at brood in their contribution in some nests), to oviposition (no raiding than solitary queens (L) 14 . Increasing the number significant differences), and to egg tending (with significant of workers enhances the probability of winning a raid (L 29 , but differences among queens, L) 28 .…”

“…However, these associations are unstable because the advantage of having multiple foundresses ends with the emergence of adult workers 14,15 . Queens in cooperative associations do not forage (the known exception is Cooperation among unrelated individuals: the ant foundress case Giorgina Bernasconi and Joan E. Strassmann Ant foundress associations are an example of cooperation among non-kin.…”

Mode of colony foundation influences the primary sex ratio in ants

“…The major advantage of foundress associations is the production of a larger initial worker force in a shorter period than solitary founding queens (Waloff 1957;Bartz & Hölldobler 1982;Tschinkel & Howard 1983;Hölldobler & Carlin 1985;Choe & Perlman 1997). This may increase the competitive ability of young colonies and result in higher colony survival and faster maturation (Rissing & Pollock 1987;Vargo 1988;Sommer & Hölldobler 1995;but see Pfennig 1995). The alternative mode of colony founding is dependent (or budding), in which newly mated queens start new colonies with a force of workers from the natal colony.…”

“…Furthermore, independent foundresses may suffer a high mortality during foundation owing to the intense competition with other nests, in which the first workers of a nest raid brood of other incipient nests. In general, colonies with a larger and more rapid worker force tend to survive this competition better (Bartz & Hölldobler 1982;Rissing & Pollock 1987;Strassmann 1989;Sommer & Hölldobler 1995;Choe & Perlman 1997). Therefore, independently founding species have first to pass through an ergonomic stage, that is, a period of colony growth, by rearing a worker force before producing reproductive offspring (Oster & Wilson 1978).…”