Fecundity and the behavioural profile of reproductive workers in the queenless ant, pachycondyla (= Ophthalmopone) berthoudi

Morphologically specialized queens are absent in Pachycondyla (= Ophthalmopone) berthoudi (ant subfamily Ponerinae). Instead, several of the workers mate and reproduce (gamergates). Gamergate proportion in nests commonly varies between nests and different times of the year. Individual fecundity of g...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethology 1999-04, Vol.105 (4), p.303-316
Main Authors: Sledge, M.F, Peeters, C, Crewe, R.M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal ethology
Biological and medical sciences
division of labor
Formicidae
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Pachycondyla berthoudi
physical activity
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
reproductive behavior
sexual behavior
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Morphologically specialized queens are absent in Pachycondyla (= Ophthalmopone) berthoudi (ant subfamily Ponerinae). Instead, several of the workers mate and reproduce (gamergates). Gamergate proportion in nests commonly varies between nests and different times of the year. Individual fecundity of gamergates varies according to the number of these individuals in a nest, and we examined their behaviour in relation to fecundity in nests with different proportions of gamergates. In nests with high proportions of gamergates, they exhibited a diversity of behaviours inside the nest and in some cases could not be distinguished behaviourally from sterile workers. The fecundity of these gamergates was low and variable. In nests with low proportions, gamergates were relatively more fecund, and did not participate in colony labour. The behavioural profile of gamergates is therefore linked to their reproductive physiology, which is influenced by the number of mated individuals in the nest.
ISSN:0179-1613
1439-0310
DOI:10.1046/j.1439-0310.1999.00398.x