Worker size, ovary development and division of labor in the giant tropical ant, Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

In the ponerine ant, P. clavata, allometric growth occurs for worker size and is correlated with task. The size distribution of workers is unimodal and skewed to the right. Guards and foragers were significantly larger than ants collected within the nest. Brood carrying ants were significantly small...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 1988-07, Vol.61 (3), p.285-291
Main Authors: Breed, M.D, Harrison, J.M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ANTS
ESTRUCTURA SOCIAL
Formicidae
FOURMI
GROSSEUR
HORMIGAS
Hymenoptera
Insect behavior
Insect brood
Insect castes
Insect colonies
Insect development
Insect nests
Insect reproduction
OVAIRE
OVARIES
OVARIOS
Paraponera clavata
SIZE
Social insects
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE SOCIALE
TAMANO
Worker insects
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Summary:In the ponerine ant, P. clavata, allometric growth occurs for worker size and is correlated with task. The size distribution of workers is unimodal and skewed to the right. Guards and foragers were significantly larger than ants collected within the nest. Brood carrying ants were significantly smaller than guards and foragers. The ovaries of foragers and guards were significantly smaller than nest ants or brood carriers, indicating that behavioral caste and physical caste may affect ovarian development. These results indicate that size variability may be functionally significant even in ants with relatively uniform body size.
ISSN:0022-8567
1937-2353