Regulation of reproduction in the neotropical ponerine ant,Pachycondyla villosa

Heinze, Juergen; Trunzer, B.; Oliveira, Paulo S.; Hölldobler, Bert

doi:10.1007/bf02214021

Cited by 31 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Nevertheless, larvae have been shown to affect worker reproduction in at least two species. In the honey bee, A. mellifera, larvae inhibit worker ovarian activation (19)(20)(21)(22)(23), and in the ant Pachycondyla apicalis larvae affect worker reproduction in queenless groups (31). However, in these cases larvae do not directly signal queen presence; therefore, this regulation mechanism clearly differs from the mechanism described in this paper.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

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.

258

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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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

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.

258

219

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Thus our data confirm the inferences of Franks and Scovell (1983) that dominance interactions are important in this species. Dominance hierarchies have also been found among workers of other formicoxenine species such as Leptothorax species (Cole, 1981) and the slave-makers Harpagoxenus sublaevis (Bourke, 1988 a) and Chalepoxenus muellerianus (Heinze, 1996 a). The strong correlations between dominance rank and reproductive potential (Table 5) are suggestive, but we cannot yet determine cause and effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Worker reproduction among social insects is well documented but relatively poorly understood (Crozier and Pamilo, 1996). Heinze (1996 b) noticed that the capacity for worker reproduction (as measured by ovarian development) is especially high for the specialised slave-making ants, a class of social parasites that exploit the labour force of other species. The slave-maker Protomognathus americanus parasitizes three different Leptothorax species (L. longispinosus, L. curvispinosus and L. ambiguus).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intracolonial conflict in the slave-making ant Protomognathus americanus : dominance hierarchies and individual reproductive success

Blatrix

2004

Insectes Sociaux

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Social group viability results from a trade-off between cooperation and conflict, driven respectively by group and individual interests. Workers of the slave-making ants are known to have a high egg-laying potential, leading to a potential conflict over male production. Queenright and queenless nests of the slave-making ant Protomognathus americanus show a near-linear dominance hierarchy, and dominance rank is correlated with reproductive activity. Genetic and behavioural analysis revealed that the queen, when present in the nest, is behaviourally dominant and monopolises reproduction. In queenless nests, the haploid (male) brood is produced primarily by a single worker. We suggest the dominance hierarchy regulates male production, between the queen and her workers as well as among workers. Comparison of our results to another study allows us to place our data in an ecological context. This slave-making ant species appears to fit the concession model of reproductive skew: where resources (i.e. host nests) are poor, there is strong skew and where resources are richer reproduction is more egalitarian.

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“…However, the major advantages that have promoted the evolution of cannibalistic behaviour may be reduction of competition by killing intraspecific competitors and acquisition of nutrients when availability and quality of food plants or interspecific prey is low (Elgar and Crespi, 1992;Mafro-Net0 and Jolivet, 1996). Egg cannibalism in social insects may contribute to maintenance of social dominance hierarchies (Kukuk, 1992;Heinze et al, 1996). Furthermore, egg cannibalism by neonate larvae may provide the larvae with (additional) endosymbionts that have been added to the eggs (see e.g.…”

Section: Chemical Defence and Egg Cannibalismmentioning

confidence: 99%