Independent colony founding by ergatoid queens in the ant genus Pogonomyrmex: queen foraging provides an alternative to dependent colony founding

Ant queens exhibit two primary strategies to initiate nests, independent colony founding (ICF) by solitary queens and dependent colony founding (DCF) when the queen starts a nest with a group of workers that disperse on foot from the parent nest. Numerous ant species have wingless (ergatoid) queens,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Insectes sociaux Vol. 57; no. 2; pp. 169 - 176
Main Author: Johnson, R. A
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel Basel : SP Birkhäuser Verlag Basel 01.05.2010
SP Birkhäuser Verlag Basel
Birkhäuser
Subjects:
Animal ethology
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Entomology
evolution
foods
foraging
Formicidae
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
insect colonies
Life Sciences
Myrmicinae
nests
Pogonomyrmex
prediction
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
queen insects
Research Article
Independent colony founding
Wingless queens
Brachypterous queen
Ergatoid queen
Queen foraging
Formicidae
Insecta
Apterous
Interspecific comparison
Social insect
Cost benefit analysis
Formicoidea
Foraging behavior
Queen insect
Arthropoda
Morphology
Colony foundation
Pogonomyrmex
Hymenoptera
Invertebrata
Aculeata
ISSN:0020-1812, 1420-9098
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Ant queens exhibit two primary strategies to initiate nests, independent colony founding (ICF) by solitary queens and dependent colony founding (DCF) when the queen starts a nest with a group of workers that disperse on foot from the parent nest. Numerous ant species have wingless (ergatoid) queens, and it is generally assumed that these species exhibit obligate DCF because their lack of wing musculature provides them with few resources to divert towards producing their first brood of workers. Thus, ICF by ergatoid queens is viewed as maladaptive because these queens need to take additional dangerous foraging trips to garner sufficient food to rear their first brood of workers. Contrary to this prediction, I document ICF by ergatoid queens for three species of harvester ants in the genus Pogonomyrmex (subfamily Myrmicinae), P. cunicularius cunicularius, P. cunicularius pencosensis, and P. huachucanus. Queens of P. huachucanus were obligate foragers, i.e., no minim workers could be produced without external food, and one queen of P. cunicularius pencosensis was observed foraging in the field. Abundant and/or predictable food resources likely select for the evolution of semi-claustral nest founding and ICF by these ergatoid queens. Under these conditions, foraging time would be minimized and the number and size of minim workers would be maximized. These benefits should increase founding success, which could compensate for loss of long-range dispersal. Overall, this study demonstrates that care should be taken before concluding that ant colonies employ DCF based solely on queen morphology.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00040-010-0065-6
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ISSN:0020-1812
1420-9098
DOI:10.1007/s00040-010-0065-6