The best of heavy queens: influence of post-flight weight on queens’ survival and productivity in Acromyrmex subterraneus (Forel, 1893) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Sales, Tatiane Archanjo de; Toledo, Antônio Marcos Oliveira; Lopes, Juliane Floriano Santos

doi:10.1007/s00040-020-00772-7

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…After 4 days, we selected 90 queens with similar FW i (anova: F = 1.79, d.f. = 2, P = 0.173) that had regurgitated the symbiotic fungus and laid eggs, and had therefore surpassed the critical days of the nest foundation phase (Sales et al, 2020).…”

Section: Experimental Set Upmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The flight muscles of semiclaustral ant queen species are small and their hystolyses do not provide enough amino acid source for larvae development (Peeters & Ito, 2001). Also, semiclaustral ant species seem to have less lipid reserves when compared to claustral species (Helms & Kaspari, 2015), although it does not directly interfere in the offspring production (Sales et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Acromyrmex subterraneus (Forel, 1893) is a semiclaustral leaf-cutting ant species which has limited body reserves during the nest foundation phase, and therefore queens need to forage. The amount of body reserves is especially important due to the fact that the death hazard for the lightest queens is about 1.42 times higher than for heavier queens although it seems not to have an effect over offspring production (Sales et al, 2020). However, the foraged material is not directly used for their feeding, but to cultivate their fungus garden which turns them heavily dependent on the performance of its fungus garden, and not simply on queen foraging activity as other semiclaustral ant founders (Johnson, 2002;Seal, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foraging for the fungus: why do Acromyrmex subterraneus (Formicidae) queens need to forage during the nest foundation phase?

Sales

Toledo

Zimerer

et al. 2021

Ecological Entomology

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1. Semiclaustral ant queens must pay the price of foraging to guarantee their survival and also that of their brood through the nest foundation phase. For leaf-cutting ant species, the challenge is even greater, as they also need to cultivate their symbiont fungus.2. We hypothesised that suppressing foraging activity could reflect in larger offspring and higher survival, as queens would be entirely dedicated to rearing the brood and initial fungus.3. By providing easy access to leaves or completely denying it, we evaluated how foraging runs interfere in Acromyrmex subterraneus queens' survival, productivity, and variation of body mass components.4. Three foraging conditions were simulated: Starved -no leaves, Spoiled -leaves inside the nest chamber, and Walker -leaves 3 m away from the nest chamber. We registered the number of dead queens, offspring, weight of the fungus garden, fresh and lean dry mass of the queens, as well as their lipid and water contents.5. Survival of Starved queens, which did not oviposit, was lower than that of Spoiled and Walker queens, although weight loss, water content, and lean dry mass were similar. While lipid content reduction was similar for Spoiled and Walker queens, the former had more larvae and pupae, and a heavier fungus garden than the latter, suggesting a greater rearing effort of Spoiled queens toward them both.6. The simulated foraging conditions provided novel data for a semiclaustral leaf-cutting ant species that evidences that fungus garden cultivation is definitively the main driving force for the colony founding success.

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Section: Experimental Set Upmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Foraging for the fungus: why do Acromyrmex subterraneus (Formicidae) queens need to forage during the nest foundation phase?

Sales

Toledo

Zimerer

et al. 2021

Ecological Entomology

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“…Leaf-cutting ants are the main herbivores in the Americas, from the southern United States (USA) to central Argentina, with underground nests sheltering colonies with large numbers of individuals that forage fresh vegetation 1 . These nests, annually, release reproductive castes that will originate new nests 2 , 3 . The foundation of claustral Atta sexdens Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nests involves a great effort by the queen as the only responsible to cultivate the fungus and caring for her offspring in this phase 3 , 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These nests, annually, release reproductive castes that will originate new nests 2 , 3 . The foundation of claustral Atta sexdens Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nests involves a great effort by the queen as the only responsible to cultivate the fungus and caring for her offspring in this phase 3 , 4 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon dioxide levels in initial nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Sousa

Camargo

Caldato

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Claustral foundation of nests by Atta sexdens Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) involves great effort by its queens, solely responsible for the cultivation of the fungus and care for her offspring at this stage. The minimum workers, after 4 months, open access to the external environment to foraging plants to cultivate the symbiotic fungus, which decomposes the plant fragments and produces gongilidea nodules as food for the individuals in the colony. Colony gas exchange and decomposition of organic matter in underground ant nests generate carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted into the atmosphere. We described the carbon dioxide concentration in colonies in the field. The objective was to evaluate the carbon dioxide concentration in initial A. sexdens colonies, in the field, and their development. The CO2 level was also measured in 4-month-old colonies in the field, using an open respirometric system fitted with an atmospheric air inlet. The CO2 level of the respirometric container was read by introducing a tube into the nest inlet hole and the air sucked by a peristaltic pump into the CO2 meter box. The CO2 concentration in the initial colony was also measured after 4 months of age, when the offspring production (number of eggs, larvae, pupae and adult workers) stabilized. Ten perforations (15 cm deep) was carried out in the adjacent soil, without a nest of ants nearby, to determine the concentration of CO2. The composition of the nests in the field was evaluated after excavating them using a gardening shovel and they were stored in 250 ml pots with 1 cm of moistened plaster at the bottom. The CO2 concentration was higher in field nest than in adjacent soil. The concentration of carbon dioxide in A. sexdens nests in the field is higher than in those in the soil, due to the production of CO2 by the fungus garden and colony.

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The benefits of being big and diverse: early colony survival in harvester ants

Cole

Jordan

LaCour-Roy

et al. 2021

Ecology

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In sessile organisms such as plants and benthic invertebrates, founding propagules typically suffer extremely high rates of mortality due to both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. Many social insect species share similarities with these groups, but factors influencing early colony survival are relatively unstudied. We used a field experiment to measure the importance of environmental quality relative to intrinsic colony properties in the harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, by monitoring the survival of 584 experimental colonies. We measured survival of transplanted colonies over four months in each of three years (2014-2016) at a site in western Colorado. Colony survival was primarily determined by colony features. Multiple mating by the queen and larger colony size at the time of transplant increased survival, but queen size, maternal lineage and the composition of plant species in the vicinity of the colony did not. Food supplementation increased survival significantly when natural food was scarce, but was not consistently beneficial, in contrast to predictions. Our results emphasize the general importance of rapid growth and early attainment of large size in the survival of sessile species. However, attributes specific to ants that are a consequence of their sociality also strongly affected survival. Colonies with multiply-mated queens were more likely to survive over a wide range of circumstances, highlighting the importance of this trait even at the early stages of colony life.

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The best of heavy queens: influence of post-flight weight on queens’ survival and productivity in Acromyrmex subterraneus (Forel, 1893) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Cited by 4 publications

References 43 publications

Foraging for the fungus: why do Acromyrmex subterraneus (Formicidae) queens need to forage during the nest foundation phase?

Foraging for the fungus: why do Acromyrmex subterraneus (Formicidae) queens need to forage during the nest foundation phase?

Carbon dioxide levels in initial nests of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The benefits of being big and diverse: early colony survival in harvester ants

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