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Behavioral and Chemical Correlates of Long-Term Queen Adoption in the Facultative Polygynous Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum |
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| Authors: | L. Zinck D. Denis R. R. Hora C. Alaux A. Lenoir A. Hefetz P. Jaisson |
| Affiliation: | 1. Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (UMR CNRS 7153) Université Paris 13, 99 avenue J.-B. Clément, 93430, Villetaneuse, France 2. U.P.A. Laboratório de Mirmecologia, Convêncio UESC/CEPLAC, Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau, C.P.7, 45600-000, Itabuna, Bahia, Brazil 3. Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA 4. Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte (UMR CNRS 6035), Université de Tours, Tours, France 5. Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Abstract: | In ants, queen adoption is a common way of achieving secondary polygyny but the mechanisms involved are little known. Here we studied the process of long-term adoptions of alien queens in the facultative polygynous ant Ectatomma tuberculatum. In eight out of 10 successful adoption experiments, all the introduced queens showed similar behavior and fecundity as the resident queens even after 2 months, indicating complete integration into the colony. Chemical analysis revealed that the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of resident and introduced queens were clearly distinct from those of workers and that they did not change after adoption. We propose that queen-specific cuticular hydrocarbon profile may represent a reliable signal of queen’s fertility and discuss about the evolution of high level of queen acceptance in E. tuberculatum. |
| Keywords: | Formicidae secondary polygyny nestmate recognition cuticular hydrocarbons fertility signal |
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