The male has done his work — the male may go

•Males of most social insects are fragile and short-lived.•Variation in male longevity is associated with the availability of mating partners.•Lifelong spermatogenesis in Cardiocondyla male ants is associated with an increased lifespan. Perennial social insects are famous for the extraordinary longe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current opinion in insect science 2016-08, Vol.16, p.22-27
Main Author: Heinze, Jürgen
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:•Males of most social insects are fragile and short-lived.•Variation in male longevity is associated with the availability of mating partners.•Lifelong spermatogenesis in Cardiocondyla male ants is associated with an increased lifespan. Perennial social insects are famous for the extraordinary longevity of their queens. While the lifespan of termite kings matches those of queens, males of social Hymenoptera are usually considered to die after one or a few copulations. While this is true in species with highly synchronized nuptial flights, in others males mate over much longer periods. Male longevity is not correlated with the life span of queens but appears to be adapted to mating opportunities. This is demonstrated by the extreme life span of Cardiocondyla ant males, which monopolize mating with virgin queens over many months. Cardiocondyla offers the opportunity to investigate why male longevity varies even among closely related taxa and how male age affects sperm and offspring quality.
ISSN:2214-5745
2214-5745
DOI:10.1016/j.cois.2016.05.005