scholarly journals Colony Founding Behavior of Some Desert Ants: Geographic Variation in Metrosis

2000 ◽  
Vol 103 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Rissing ◽  
Robert A. Johnson ◽  
John W. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Colony Founding ◽  
Colony Foundation ◽  
Desert Ants ◽  
Adaptive Value ◽  
Acromyrmex Versicolor

The antsPogonomyrmex catifornicusandPheidole tucsonicadisplay cooperative colony foundation with co-foundresses forming associations without respect to relatedness. Geographic variation in method of colony foundation [cooperative (pleometrosis) versus non-cooperative (haplometrosis)] occurs inP. californicus, Acromyrmex versicolor, Myrmecocystus mimicus and Messor pergandei.Such variation in colony founding behavior strongly suggests that comparative studies of the adaptive value of cooperative colony founding will be extremely rewarding.

scholarly journals Nest Relocation and Colony Founding in the Australian Desert Ant,Melophorus bagotiLubbock (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

2010 ◽  
Vol 2010 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Schultheiss ◽  
Sebastian Schwarz ◽  
Antoine Wystrach
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Colony Founding ◽  
Circumstantial Evidence ◽  
Nest Relocation ◽  
Desert Ants ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Multiple Matings ◽  
Trail Laying ◽  
Mating Flights ◽  
Melophorus Bagoti

Even after years of research on navigation in the Red Honey Ant,Melophorus bagoti, much of its life history remains elusive. Here, we present observations on nest relocation and the reproductive and founding stages of colonies. Nest relocation is possibly aided by trail laying behaviour, which is highly unusual for solitary foraging desert ants. Reproduction occurs in synchronised mating flights, which are probably triggered by rain. Queens may engage in multiple matings, and there is circumstantial evidence that males are chemically attracted to queens. After the mating flight, the queens found new colonies independently and singly. Excavation of these founding colonies reveals first insights into their structure.

scholarly journals The evolution of social parasitism in Formica ants revealed by a global phylogeny

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (38) ◽  
pp. e2026029118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek L. Borowiec ◽  
Stefan P. Cover ◽  
Christian Rabeling
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Common Ancestor ◽  
Social Parasitism ◽  
Colony Founding ◽  
Colony Foundation ◽  
Social Parasites ◽  
Evolutionary Trajectories ◽  
Dependent Colony Founding ◽  
High Parasite ◽  
Temporary Social Parasitism

Studying the behavioral and life history transitions from a cooperative, eusocial life history to exploitative social parasitism allows for deciphering the conditions under which changes in behavior and social organization lead to diversification. The Holarctic ant genus Formica is ideally suited for studying the evolution of social parasitism because half of its 172 species are confirmed or suspected social parasites, which includes all three major classes of social parasitism known in ants. However, the life history transitions associated with the evolution of social parasitism in this genus are largely unexplored. To test competing hypotheses regarding the origins and evolution of social parasitism, we reconstructed a global phylogeny of Formica ants. The genus originated in the Old World ∼30 Ma ago and dispersed multiple times to the New World and back. Within Formica, obligate dependent colony-founding behavior arose once from a facultatively polygynous common ancestor practicing independent and facultative dependent colony foundation. Temporary social parasitism likely preceded or arose concurrently with obligate dependent colony founding, and dulotic social parasitism evolved once within the obligate dependent colony-founding clade. Permanent social parasitism evolved twice from temporary social parasitic ancestors that rarely practiced colony budding, demonstrating that obligate social parasitism can originate from a facultative parasitic background in socially polymorphic organisms. In contrast to permanently socially parasitic ants in other genera, the high parasite diversity in Formica likely originated via allopatric speciation, highlighting the diversity of convergent evolutionary trajectories resulting in nearly identical parasitic life history syndromes.

Independent colony foundation in Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): First workers lay trophic eggs to feed queen’s larvae

Sociobiology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Peeters
Keyword(s):  
First Generation ◽  
Neck Muscles ◽  
Colony Founding ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Colony Foundation ◽  
Trophic Eggs ◽  
Paraponera Clavata

Paraponera clavata Smith is a large, notorious, and widely distributed ant, yet its colony founding behavior is poorly known. In the laboratory, a dealate queen collected from Peru reared a first generation of ten adult workers over 18 months; eight cocoons and several larvae failed. Food was obtained outside the nest and given to larvae. It took five and six months before the first two workers emerged, and they were smaller than average (i.e.‘nanitic’). At Q+4, trophic eggs were laid by workers and given directly to medium and mature larvae on three occasions. Six workers were dissected immediately after the queen’s death, and five had yolky oocytes in their ovaries. Queen foraging is known from anecdotal field observations, despite the prothorax (and corresponding neck muscles) being smaller than in other poneroid queens.

Further Comparative Studies on Ascites in Liver and Heart Disease

1950 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Layne ◽  
F.R. Schemm ◽  
W.W. Hurst
Keyword(s):  
Heart Disease ◽  
Comparative Studies
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