Seasonal cycle of colony structure in the Ponerine ant Pachycondyla chinensis in western Japan (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) |
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Authors: | A Gotoh F Ito |
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Institution: | (1) Laboratory of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Ikenobe Miki, 761-8095, Japan |
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Abstract: | Investigation of reproductive strategies of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae is important for understanding of the evolution
of social structure and of the significance of caste dimorphisms. The biology of species with mated and egg-laying workers
(gamergates) has been studied for many species, however, little attention has been paid to species that reproduce via alate
queens only. We investigated the seasonal cycle of changes in the colony structure of Pachycondyla chinensis reproduced by alate queens in western Japan, and found the following novel biological characteristics of this species. P. chinensis showed a remarkable caste dimorphism in ovariole numbers: workers had no ovaries while queens had 18 to 36 ovarioles in their
ovaries. The nesting system seemed to be polydomous: 266 of 400 nests collected were queenless. The number of queenless nests
increased during the reproductive season. Among the 134 queenright nests, 38 had several mated-queens without significant
differences in ovary activation and the remaining 96 nests were monogynous. During winter to early spring, most nests were
polygynous. After alate production, most of the old queens seemed to die or be expelled and replaced by new queens. Virgin
dealated queens were often found and they seemed to have laid eggs.
Received 3 August 2007; revised 19 December 2007; accepted 20 December 2007 |
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Keywords: | Ants Pachycondyla chinensis polygyny poly-domy queen replacement |
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