鼎突多剌蚁群体结构和生活史的研究

本文报告了鼎突多刺蚁(Polyrhachis vicina Roger)的群体结构和生物史。通过研究表明,鼎突多刺蚁一年发生一代,以蚁后、雄蚁、工蚁、幼虫和卵越冬。卵和幼虫在冬天发育停滞（或极慢）。到了春天,随着气温的上升,卵和幼虫又恢复正常发育。据室内人工饲养观察,卵的发育历期为23.8±2.5天（平均温度26℃）幼虫为20.4±4.4天(26℃),工蚁蛹为19.8±5.5天(27℃)。成长工蚁在5—11月出现;8—11月,雄蚁从蛹中羽化;10月,雌蚁从蛹中羽化。雌蚁分飞交尾后,进入邻近蚁巢或回到原巢,脱翅成为蚁后。蚁巢内存在着多后现象。     

中华红林蚁形态描述、行为观察及社群结构

调查显示,北京百花山上"蚂蚁山"的蚂蚁为我国林区特有的种类——中华红林蚁Formica sinensis。该蚂蚁分布海拔相对较高,通常在针叶林或针阔叶混交林中筑巢,进行社会性生活。成虫有4个品级:大型工蚁、小型工蚁、蚁后和雄蚁。每个成熟蚁巢中有2～4个蚁后,为多蚁后社群结构。夏季蚁巢中同时存在着卵、幼虫、蛹和成虫。目前还只发现工蚁和蚁后休眠越冬。对中华红林蚁的各个虫态和品级进行形态描述和测定,并记述工蚁的觅食、建巢及清巢、防御与进攻等行为习性。首次发现雄蚁具有明显的护巢行为。同时,还发现在工蚁的外出活动中,标记信息素的作用不是很明显。     

粗纹举腹蚁蚁巢解剖及其数学建模

为了弄清与排泄蜜露的昆虫有密切关系的粗纹举腹蚁Crematogaster macaoensis Wheeler的生物学特性,于2009年8月至2010年7月在云南省墨江县雅邑乡紫胶园采集并调查了42个粗纹举腹蚁蚁巢。粗纹举腹蚁蚁巢类型为层纸巢,灰黑色,筑于紫胶虫寄主植物树干的中上部,由干枯树叶、杂草、碎屑和蚁分泌物粘结而成;巢内疏松,蚁道纵横交错;单蚁后制,工蚁单型;平均每巢的蚁后、繁殖雌蚁、雄蚁和工蚁的数量分别为(1.00±0.00)头,(488.75±242.59)头,(3 096.86±2 923.75)头和(40 839.07±8 597.98)头;卵、幼虫和蛹的数量分别为(9 936.60±2 448.62)粒,(3 214.83±781.71)头和(4 582.00±656.07)个。粗纹举腹蚁蚁巢体积和每巢工蚁数量的计算公式分别为:V=0.365×(43×πabc)1.056和WN=135.236×V0.660(式中V代表蚁巢体积,a、b、c分别代表蚁巢的长半径、短半径和极半径,WN代表工蚁数量)。这两个公式为监测粗纹举腹蚁的种群数量变化提供了一种手段。     

红火蚁的巢间相容性

在室内条件下通过将红火蚁Solenopsis invicta Buren异巢不同品级的个体置于同一容器中,对红火蚁的巢间相容性进行研究。结果表明,蚁后与异巢幼蚁共处时,异巢幼蚁的羽化率为33.3%,与对照处理的38.3%(蚁后与同巢幼蚁共处)无显著差异。工蚁与异巢幼蚁共处时,异巢幼蚁的羽化率为53.7%,与对照处理的72.2%(工蚁与同巢幼蚁共处)无显著差异。蚁后与异巢工蚁共处时,异巢蚁后的存活率为45%,与对照处理的61.7%(工蚁与同巢蚁后共处)无显著差异。有翅繁殖雌蚁与异巢工蚁共处时,异巢工蚁的存活率为86.7%与对照处理的99.4%(工蚁与同巢有翅繁殖雌蚁共处)存在显著差异;异巢有翅雌蚁的存活率为22.2%,与对照处理的88.9%(工蚁与同巢有翅繁殖雌蚁共处)存在显著差异。由此可见,同区域内红火蚁异巢各品级间存在一定程度的相容性,并巢行为有可能发生。     

昆明红火蚁种群发生特征

【目的】2013年10月云南省元谋县首次发现红火蚁。掌握红火蚁蚁巢各品级发生动态,能为当地红火蚁的防控提供技术支撑。【方法】2015年1—12月,在昆明宜良县对红火蚁蚁巢取样、分离,红火蚁取样、称重,统计红火蚁各品级的头数。【结果】地上蚁巢红火蚁蚁群数量发生高峰期在8—9月,其次是3—4月。蚁后数量比例高峰在3—4月;有翅雌蚁比例高峰在4月,其次是7月;有翅雄蚁比例高峰的在5月,其次是9月;生殖蚁幼虫和蛹比例高峰的3、4和12月。地上蚁巢工蚁、兵蚁、职能蚁幼虫和蛹数量发生的高峰期在8—9月,发生小高峰期在4月。【结论】昆明红火蚁蚁群数量动态有2个峰值,第一个峰值为8—9月,以职能蚁防治为主;第二个蜂值3—4月,以生殖蚁和职能蚁防治为主。该结果为昆明红火蚁防控技术提供了数据支撑。     

家蚁的危害及控制

该文运用环境调查、食物诱引与蚁巢饲养相结合的方法,研究了与室内卫生有关的主要蚂蚁种类及其危害,探讨了主要优势种小黄家蚁的发生规律,分析了家蚁控制策略及措施,并提出家蚁控制的研究方向。北京地区发现建筑物蚂蚁5属9种,其中小黄家蚁Monomorium pharaonis是优势种群之一。蚂蚁的危害主要为咬扰人体、传播病菌、污染环境和损坏建筑。小黄家蚁在北京1年发生2—3代;生活史中有卵、幼虫、蛹和成虫4个时期;25～27℃时,工蚁从卵到成虫约需37d,雌雄蚁发育历期40d左右;工蚁寿命60—70d,雄蚁不超过20d,雌蚁可长达270d;室内昼夜出没,午夜12点至凌晨4点为活动峰时;四季发生,2月和10月为高峰期。蚂蚁控制策略应以环卫预防为基础、物理控制为首要、化学防治为重点,辅以其他各种有效的治理措施。     

台湾铗蠓幼期发育的观察

台湾铗蠓的卵为深褐色,往往也夹杂有浅棕色、粉色和白色等浅色卵。在30146只卵中,深褐色卵占77.91％;而浅色卵分别占4.13％、16.74％和0.89％。深褐色卵的孵化率平均为83.80％,而浅色卵均不孵化。卵的孵化比较集中,观察626只卵,有98.4％(616只)在收卵后第三天孵化。在26±1℃的恒温条件下,以酵母粉和肝粉为食料,饲养幼虫,幼虫期平均为15.1天,一龄幼虫发育时间平均为3.4±0.57天,二龄幼虫为3.7±0.65天,三龄和四龄分别为3.9±0.73和4.1±1.19天。化蛹率为18.12±2.06％,蛹期平均为4.1±0.4天,羽化率为83.33％,雌雄成蠓羽化时间 近。低温和被霉菌菌丝缠绕均可导致蛹的死亡。此外,对卵和幼虫的生物学特性亦进行了观察。     

CREB在拟黑多刺蚁不同品级脑部mRNA水平的定位

为探讨CREB在拟黑多刺蚁(Polyrhachis vicina)不同品级脑部mRNA水平的表达,采用地高辛标记法原位杂交技术对拟黑多刺蚁工蚁、雌蚁、雄蚁3个品级脑部CREB mRNA的表达进行了定位研究。结果显示,CREB mRNA在拟黑多刺蚁不同品级脑部均有广泛表达。阳性反应主要分布在蕈形体冠部的Kenyon细胞、视叶和嗅叶等部位。在3个不同品级蚂蚁的脑部中,工蚁的嗅球和蕈形体内有较明显的CREB mRNA阳性反应,雄蚁的视叶具有较强的阳性反应,与工蚁和雄蚁相比,雌蚁脑部各个部位的阳性表达都较弱。推断CREB可能在视觉和嗅觉信息的获取与整合中起着重要作用,且与不同品级蚂蚁的行为相关。     

温度对丝带凤蝶生长发育的影响

温度对丝带凤蝶生长发育的研究。结果表明,丝带凤蝶在武汉地区1年发生6代。在15~35℃范围内,卵孵化率、幼虫和蛹存活率分别在25,25和20℃时最高,卵、幼虫和蛹发育历期随温度升高显著缩短;适宜发育温度范围为20~35℃。丝带凤蝶卵、幼虫和蛹的发育起点温度分别约为(8.7±2.5)℃、(11.9±6.0)℃和(6.9±1.8)℃,有效积温分别约为(82.5±5.1),(222.2±39.5)和(178.7±7.3)日.度。     

温度与光周期对麝凤蝶生长发育的影响

观察了麝凤蝶的卵、幼虫和蛹在不同温度和光周期条件下的发育历期。结果表明 :卵、幼虫和蛹的发育起点温度分别为 1 3 7,7 9和 8 0℃ ,有效积温分别为 43 8,3 98 0和 2 79 4日·度 ;越冬蛹的发育可以分为 5个阶段 ;大部分越冬蛹在上午 (88 2 % )羽化 ;长光照处理平均比短光照出处理提前羽化 2d。     

Clustered male production by workers in the stingless bee Melipona subnitida Ducke (Apidae, Meliponinae)

Summary: In stingless bees brood cells are sequentially filled with liquid larval food (mass-provisioning), upon which the queen lays an egg. Thereafter the cell is closed by a worker. This study showed that during these processes workers of Melipona subnitida regularly laid eggs that served as food for the queen. Occasionally cells were oviposited in and immediately closed by a worker. These cells always rendered males. Some of these reproductive workers were seen to lay a trophic egg as well. Cells which were exclusively oviposited in by the physogastric queen gave rise to workers and queens only. In one colony it could be verified that three workers alone, which differed in age by one day, laid 15 male-producing eggs within a period of two successive weeks. Among them the number of ovipositions was positively related to the order in which workers eclosed - the oldest worker laying most eggs - and inversely related to the number of times they closed cells oviposited in exclusively by the queen. Apparently the physogastric queen was not able to stop certain workers from reproducing. We therefore conclude that some workers in M. subnitida temporarily dominated their queens in egg-laying.     

Male production by workers in the polygynous ant Prolasius advenus

The ability of workers to produce male individuals is reported here for the first time in a species of the formicine ant genus Prolasius. We show that Prolasius advenus workers possess ovaries and demonstrate that they are able to produce adult males in queenless colonies. We also experimentally tested the influence of queen volatiles on the level of worker reproduction. Workers produced fewer eggs in treatments where they could perceive odors from queens. Some volatile compounds emitted by queens may thus have a signaling or inhibitory effect on worker reproduction. This effect of queen presence did not entirely stop worker reproduction, however, as adult males still emerged under these conditions. Worker-produced males were absent only in treatments with the physical presence of queens. Dissections of workers collected from queenright nests in the field revealed signs of egg-laying activity in more than half of individuals. Together, these results suggest that in nature P. advenus workers produce males at least in orphaned colonies or in situations where the physical presence of queens is limited.     

Decision-making conditions for intra- or inter-nest mating of winged males in the male-dimorphic ant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cardiocondyla minutior</Emphasis>

Only winged male and female ants generally mate through nuptial flight during the reproductive season. In the ants of Cardiocondyla, the males show wing dimorphism and their reproductive strategies differ depending on the differences in wing morphology. It has been suggested that wingless “ergatoid” males bearing very similar external morphologies to workers mate within natal nests, whereas winged males bearing typical ant male morphology disperse from their nests to mate. However, some behavioral observations suggest that the winged males of some Cardiocondyla ants such as C. obscurior and C. minutior may mate within natal nests before dispersion. We evaluated the factors affecting the mating behaviors of the winged males of C. minutior under laboratory conditions. We found that (1) the winged males remained and mated with virgin females in natal nests when either virgin winged females or the relatively mature pupae of winged females (i.e., at least 10 days) were present in the nest, (2) the winged males dispersed to adjacent nests with virgin winged females when only mated queens and the relatively young pupae of winged females (i.e., <9 days) were present in the nest, and (3) all winged males were accepted by the workers of non-natal nests irrespective of the distance from the natal nests in the field. Although most ergatoid males were accepted by the workers of close non-natal nests, they were all attacked and killed by the workers of distant non-natal nests. These results suggest that intra-nest mating and the dispersion of the winged males of C. minutior are facultatively determined by the condition of winged females (virginity and relative pupal age) in natal nests. Furthermore, our results suggest that winged males are likely to seek mating partners chemically and to mate with virgin winged females.     

Cheating honeybee workers produce royal offspring

The Cape bee (Apis mellifera capensis) is unique among honeybees in that workers can lay eggs that instead of developing into males develop into females via thelytokous parthenogenesis. We show that this ability allows workers to compete directly with the queen over the production of new queens. Genetic analyses using microsatellites revealed that 23 out of 39 new queens produced by seven colonies were offspring of workers and not the resident queen. Of these, eight were laid by resident workers, but the majority were offspring of parasitic workers from other colonies. The parasites were derived from several clonal lineages that entered the colonies and successfully targeted queen cells for parasitism. Hence, these parasitic workers had the potential to become genetically reincarnated as queens. Of the daughter queens laid by the resident queen, three were produced asexually, suggesting that queens can 'choose' to produce daughter queens clonally and thus have the potential for genetic immortality.     

The biology of the primitively eusocial Augochloropsis iris (Schrottky, 1902) (Hymenoptera, Halictidae)

Summary: This work investigated Augochloropsis iris, its annual colony cycle, brood size and survival rate, caste differentiation, and sex ratio, and is the first detailed account of a clearly eusocial species of this genus. The population studied is located in the Campos do Jordão State Park, São Paulo, Brazil. The annual colony cycle extends from August to March and consists of three phases of cell provisioning separated by two phases of inactivity, and followed by an emergence of future queens and males. Provisioning during the first phase is carried primarily out by solitary females. The daughters, after emerging from the cells, remain in the natal nests, carrying out foraging activities, while the mother engages in reproduction. New nests are initiated during each of the provisioning phases by solitary females, principally by females from the second-phase brood which, soon after emerging from the cells, leave their natal nests to found their own nests, which they provision during the third phase. The females resulting from the third-phase brood in general mate and excavate their own nests, in which they diapause, with provisioning delayed until the following August. On average, the queens are significantly larger (5%) than the workers. In general, the workers do not have developed ovaries, but all are mated. Kin selection can be accepted as the selective force responsible for worker behavior of A. iris in eusocial colonies when the queen has mated once and semisocial colonies if the queen mated only once. The percentage of males produced in the first, second and third broods and in the brood of new nests founded by solitary females active in the second and third phases was: 20.7%, 22.2%, 13.3% and 0.0% respectively. The resultant sex ratio of the third brood suggests that the third-phase workers of eusocial nests are at least in partial control of their colony's sex ratios, in cases where the queens mated only once.     

Evolution of gene expression in fire ants: the effects of developmental stage, caste, and species

Ants provide remarkable examples of equivalent genotypes developing into divergent and discrete phenotypes. Diploid eggs can develop either into queens, which specialize in reproduction, or workers, which participate in cooperative tasks such as building the nest, collecting food, and rearing the young. In contrast, the differentiation between males and females generally depends upon whether eggs are fertilized, with fertilized (diploid) eggs giving rise to females and unfertilized (haploid) eggs giving rise to males. To obtain a comprehensive picture of the relative contributions of gender (sex), caste, developmental stage, and species divergence to gene expression evolution, we investigated gene expression patterns in pupal and adult queens, workers, and males of two species of fire ants, Solenopsis invicta and S. richteri. Microarray hybridizations revealed that variation in gene expression profiles is influenced more by developmental stage than by caste membership, sex, or species identity. The second major contributor to variation in gene expression was the combination of sex and caste. Although workers and queens share equivalent diploid nuclear genomes, they have highly distinctive patterns of gene expression in both the pupal and the adult stages, as might be expected given their extraordinary level of phenotypic differentiation. Overall, the difference in the proportion of differentially expressed genes was greater between workers and males than between workers and queens or queens and males, consistent with the fact that workers and males share neither gender nor reproductive capability. Moreover, between-species comparisons revealed that the greatest difference in gene expression patterns occurred in adult workers, a finding consistent with the fact that adult workers most directly experience the distinct external environments characterizing the different habitats occupied by the two species. Thus, much of the evolution of gene expression in ants may occur in the worker caste, despite the fact that these individuals are largely or completely sterile. Analyses of gene expression evolution revealed a combination of positive selection and relaxation of stabilizing selection as important factors driving the evolution of such genes.     

The influence of queens of the antParatrechina flavipes on daughter and non-daughter workers, for the suppression of sexual production

The influence that the queen ofParatrechina flavipes (Smith) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) has upon workers was investigated in field and laboratory nests. There was no significant difference in sexual production, either of gynes or males, between field queenright and queenless nests of the ant. A replicated laboratory experiment revealed that workers lay fewer eggs and rear fewer sexual larvae in the presence of their mother queen, while this reduction is not observed in workers with influence of non-mother queens. The results seem to support the queen's signal hypothesis by Keller & Nonacs (1993). The contradiction is explained by workers rearing sexuals in queenless satellite nests. There exists a probably complex regulation of the transfer of larvae between satellite and mother nests.     

Mating frequency and mating system of the polygynous ant, Leptothorax acervorum

Multiple mating by queens (polyandry) and the occurrence of multiple queens in the same colony (polygyny) alter patterns of relatedness within societies of eusocial insects. This is predicted to influence kin-selected conflicts over reproduction. We investigated the mating system of a facultatively polygynous UK population of the ant Leptothorax acervorum using up to six microsatellite loci. We estimated mating frequency by genotyping 79 dealate (colony) queens and the contents of their sperm receptacles and by detailed genetic analysis of 11 monogynous (single-queen) and nine polygynous colonies. Results indicated that 95% of queens were singly mated and 5% of queens were doubly mated. The corrected population mean mating frequency was 1.06. Parentage analysis of adults and brood in 17 colonies (10 monogynous, 7 polygynous) showed that female offspring attributable to each of 31 queens were full sisters, confirming that queens typically mate once. Inbreeding coefficients, queen-mate relatedness of zero and the low incidence of diploid males provided evidence that L. acervorum sexuals mate entirely or almost entirely at random. Males mated to queens in the same polygynous colony were not related to one another. Our data also confirmed that polygynous colonies contain queens that are related on average and that their workers had a mixed maternity. We conclude that the mating system of L. acervorum involves queens that mate near nests with unrelated males and then seek readoption by those nests, and queens that mate in mating aggregations away from nests, also with unrelated males.     

Host choice in the phoretic mite Parasitellus fucorum (Mesostigmata: Parasitidae): which bumblebee caste is the best?

Host caste recognition may be important for the dispersal of phoretic mites associated with social insects. All developmental stages of the mite Parasitellus fucorum (Acari: Mesostigmata: Parasitidae) live in the nests of bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus). Dispersal occurs by specialised phoretic instars, deutonymphs, which attach to adult bumblebees. Since bumblebee colonies are annual and only young queens overwinter, deutonymphs that are able to discriminate between bumblebee castes and preferentially attach to queens should be favoured by selection. In the field, deutonymphs of P. fucorum were found to be phoretic on bumblebee workers and queens, and in behavioural experiments all castes proved to be attractive as carriers for the mites. However, they preferred queens that had hibernated as carriers when they could choose between workers and queens. In a further experiment, when given a choice, deutonymphs switched from males to young queens but never transferred from a queen to a male. These results suggest that deutonymphs preferentially attach to queens but may also use other castes for transport. Those dispersing on workers and males may try to switch to queens later. Host-switching is possible during copulation and on flowers, where bees of all castes forage. Received: 14 November 1997 / Accepted: 16 February 1998     

Social selection and the evolution of a female weapon in queens of the ant Messor pergandei (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The evolution of weaponry occurs less frequently in females than in males and is most often important for protecting ecological resources or offspring rather than winning mates. The purpose of female weapons is often confounded by the presence of similar weapons in males, so cases where only females need weapons provide important tests of our understanding of how and why weapons evolve. In some populations of the ant, Messor pergandei (Mayr), newly mated queens initiate new nests in social groups that subsequently break down when queens engage in battles for control. The incipient social environment differs geographically, so that lethal fighting occurs in some populations but not others. Consistent with the hypothesis that queens in populations where lethal fighting occurs should show selection for weaponry (broad heads and strong mandibles), we found that heads of queens from sites where lethal fighting occurs were broader than those at sites with non‐fighting queens and a site with solitary queens. Evolution of weaponry is specific to queens, because regression results from workers often did not follow this pattern. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 113 , 1011–1020.