Fight tactics in wood ants: individuals in smaller groups fight harder but die faster

When social animals engage in inter-group contests, the outcome is determined by group sizes and individual masses, which together determine group resource-holding potential ('group RHP'). Individuals that perceive themselves as being in a group with high RHP may receive a motivational increase and increase their aggression levels. Alternatively, individuals in lower RHP groups may increase their aggression levels in an attempt to overcome the RHP deficit. We investigate how 'group RHP' influences agonistic tactics in red wood ants Formica rufa. Larger groups had higher total agonistic indices, but per capita agonistic indices were highest in the smallest groups, indicating that individuals in smaller groups fought harder. Agonistic indices were influenced by relative mean mass, focal group size, opponent group size and opponent group agonistic index. Focal group attrition rates decreased as focal group relative agonistic indices increased and there was a strong negative influence of relative mean mass. The highest focal attrition rates were received when opponent groups were numerically large and composed of large individuals. Thus, fight tactics in F. rufa seem to vary with both aspects of group RHP, group size and the individual attributes of group members, indicating that information on these are available to fighting ants.     

Cyclic release of carbon dioxide accompanied by abdominal telescoping movements in forager ants of Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Abstract.  Discontinuous gas exchange and abdominal telescoping movements were investigated in intact forager ants of Formica polyctena Förster. For simultaneous recording of discontinuous gas exchange and abdominal movements, an electrolytic differential microrespirometer was combined with an infrared-optical device using an infrared-sensor diode commonly applied as a cardiograph in insect studies. The air in the insect chamber was saturated with water vapour, and an ant was contacted with a sliver of wet filter paper. Accordingly, the ants used in the experiments were regarded as being hydrated. The enforced immobility of the ant in the respirometry chamber (0.15 mL volume) induced continuous struggling during the first hours of measurement but, after 3–4 h, the activity periods alternated with quiescent periods when regular cycles of discontinuous gas exchange (8.97 mHz) were displayed. After remaining in the chamber for a day, the ants showed such cycles (8.15 mHz) without any interruption by periods of activity. The cyclic release of carbon dioxide (burst) was accompanied by a bout of telescoping movements of the abdominal segments (rapid contractions and slow relaxations), which were interpreted as active ventilation. The irregular and rare abdominal contractions, recorded during the interburst periods on the first day of measurements, were regarded as a symptom of stress because these disappeared on the second day. In approximately 20% of foragers, the telescoping movements during the interburst periods were characterized by very rapid (0.09 s) protractions and slow retractions of the abdominal segments, obviously acting as inspiration movements. The results do not support the hypothesis that discontinuous gas exchange is an adaptation for conserving water in ants.     

Multiple breeders, breeder shifts and inclusive fitness returns in an ant

In social insects, colonies may contain multiple reproductively active queens. This leads to potential conflicts over the apportionment of brood maternity, especially with respect to the production of reproductive offspring. We investigated reproductive partitioning in offspring females (gynes) and workers in the ant Formica fusca, and combined this information with data on the genetic returns gained by workers. Our results provide the first evidence that differential reproductive partitioning among breeders can enhance the inclusive fitness returns for sterile individuals that tend non-descendant offspring. Two aspects of reproductive partitioning contribute to this outcome. First, significantly fewer mother queens contribute to gyne (new reproductive females) than to worker brood, such that relatedness increases from worker to gyne brood. Second, and more importantly, adult workers were significantly more related to the reproductive brood raised by the colony, than to the contemporary worker brood. Thus, the observed breeder shift leads to genetic benefits for the adult workers that tend the brood. Our results also have repercussions for genetic population analyses. Given the observed pattern of reproductive partitioning, estimates of effective population size based on worker and gyne samples are not interchangeable.     

Plant choice,herbivory and weight gain of wood crickets under the risk of predation

Predators can indirectly reduce herbivory by killing herbivores. In addition, predation risk can influence the feeding rate and feeding location of herbivores. Herbivores are expected to avoid plants currently occupied by a predator. Consequently, less herbivory is expected on plants bearing fresh predator cues. We examined whether wood crickets, Nemobius sylvestris Bosc (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), avoided plants bearing the chemical cues of nursery web spiders, Pisaura mirabilis Clerck (Araneae: Pisauridae), or red wood ants, Formica rufa L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). We conducted a series of behavioural experiments, in which crickets had the choice between a plant with spider or ant cues vs. a control plant, a plant with spider cues vs. a plant with ant cues, or two control plants. For all plants, we quantified leaf damage and the position and weight change in the crickets. Crickets avoided plants with spider cues. In contrast, ant cues did not significantly deter crickets. The herbivory pattern among the plants reflected the plant choice of the crickets. However, net herbivory was not affected by the presence of predator cues. Thus, our results suggest that spider cues affect feeding location rather than the total amount of herbivory.     

Integration raids in the Amazon ant Polyergus rufescens (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Summary. Groups of enslaved Formica fusca workers from mixed colonies of Polyergus rufescens with numerous slave workforce tend to split off and found small and almost homospecific nests around the main nest, with at least some of them connected with the latter with underground passages. Their inhabitants are able, at least temporarily, to adopt young F. fusca gynes. P. rufescens invades these satellite nests in a manner similar to the normal slave raids, and carries the slaves back to the main nest. The supposed evolutionary cause of this behaviour is to keep integrity of mixed colonies and prevent possible emancipation of slaves.Received 18 August 2004; revised 27 September 2004; accepted 11 October 2004.     

Breeding system and reproductive skew in a highly polygynous ant population

Factors affecting relatedness among nest members in ant colonies with high queen number are still poorly understood. In order to identify the major determinants of nest kin structure, we conducted a detailed analysis of the breeding system of the ant Formica exsecta. We estimated the number of mature queens by mark-release-recapture in 29 nests and dissected a sub-sample of queens to assess their reproductive status. We also used microsatellites to estimate relatedness within and between all classes of nestmates (queens, their mates, worker brood, queen brood and male brood). Queen number was very high, with an arithmetic mean of 253 per nest. Most queens (90%) were reproductively active, consistent with the genetic analyses revealing that there was only a minimal reproductive skew among nestmate queens. Despite the high queen number and low reproductive skew, almost all classes of individuals were significantly related to each other. Interestingly, the number of resident queens was a poor predictor of kin structure at the nest level, consistent with the observation that new queens are produced in bursts leading to highly fluctuating queen number across years. Queen number also varied tremendously across nests, with estimates ranging from five to several hundred queens. Accordingly, the harmonic mean queen number (40.5) was six times lower than the arithmetic mean. The variation in queen number was the most important factor of the breeding system contributing to a significant relatedness between almost all classes of nestmates despite a high average number of queens per nest. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Received 12 November 2007; revised 4 May 2008; accepted 8 May 2008.     

Copulatory wounds in the monandrous ant species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Formica japonica</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera,Formicidae)

Males of several insect species inflict wounds on female genitalia during copulation, but the significance of such copulatory wounds for males is not clear. I compared the genitalia of virgin and mated Formica japonica females and for the first time report the occurrence of copulatory wounds in this monandrous ant species. All inseminated females examined had two types of melanized patches, indicating wound repair, and the serrated penis valves and sharp-pointed volsellar digitus of male genitalia were the likely instruments of these wounds. Physically damaging mating in monandrous species supports the view that copulatory wounds do not necessarily contribute to postcopulatory fitness gains for males via advantages in sperm competition or cryptic female choice. Received 10 September 2007; revised 15 October 2007; accepted 16 October 2007.     

新疆蚁属蚂蚁及元素的测定

我国将蚂蚁食用和药用已有悠久的历史 ,北方省区以蚁属Formica蚂蚁为重要。经调查和鉴定 ,新疆蚁属蚂蚁有 2 2种 ,其中 8种蚁类具有较为丰富的资源 ;对 4种蚂蚁分析测定 ,含有较高的Zn,Mn,Ce,Ca等微量和常量元素 ,说明新疆蚁属蚂蚁具有很好的潜在开发利用价值。     

Resource characteristics and competition affect colony and individual foraging strategies of the wood ant Formica integroides

Abstract.  1. Resource characteristics and competitive pressure can affect an ant colony's foraging strategy. This study examined the ability of the wood ant Formica integroides to respond, at both the colony and individual levels, to changes in competitive pressure for access to terrestrial and arboreal resources.
2. Because foraging behaviours depend on resource characteristics, foraging for different resource types (e.g. terrestrial and arboreal habitats) produces different spatial or territorial arrangements. In this study, terrestrial contests for resources followed an interference-exploitation tradeoff, while arboreal foragers defended entire trees as absolute territories.
3. Competitive pressure for access to arboreal resources was shown to increase with distance from F. integroides nests.
4. In this study, the ability of F. integroides to defend a resource varied with body size. Large foragers were better defenders than small foragers. For groups of foragers, the ability to defend a resource increased with the ratio of large to small foragers.
5. In response to competitive pressure, F. integroides colonies altered the size distribution of arboreal, but not terrestrial, foragers. An increase in competitive pressure was matched by an increase in the number of large foragers allocated to trees. This response to competition affected the relationship between body size and distance from the nest for arboreal foragers.
6. Foraging behaviours for individual arboreal foragers also varied with competitive pressure. As competition increased, large arboreal foragers spent more time in direct contact with the resource rather than standing between resource patches.     

蚁属（膜翅目：蚁科）4种的形态测量学分析

运用形态测量学分析方法,对蚁属Formica中的光亮黑蚁F.candida、亮腹黑褐蚁F.gagatoides、北京凹头蚁F.beijingensis和满洲蚁F.manchu 4种共296头蚂蚁标本进行研究。选取头长(HL)、头宽(HW)、复眼最大直径(ED)、触角柄节长(SL)、并腹胸长(AL)、前胸背板宽(PW)、并胸腹节宽(DPW)和体长(TL)8个度量数据为变量进行相关性、配对T检验、均值±SD与主成分散点分布图分析,探讨形态测量学方法在蚁科昆虫分类中的应用。结果表明:形态测量学方法能够将4种蚂蚁进行有效识别区分,可作为形态分类学研究的一种有效、快速的辅助方法。