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Reproductive Competition in Colonies of the Ant Leptothorax gredleri

1992; Wiley; Volume: 90; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/j.1439-0310.1992.tb00838.x

1439-0310

Jürgen Heınze, Norbert Lipski, Bert Hölldobler,

Insect and Pesticide Research

Abstract Colonies of the ant, Leptothorax (s. str.) gredleri may contain several inseminated female reproductives of which typically only one is laying eggs. Observations suggest that “functional monogyny” is caused by aggressive interactions among nestmate queens. Only the most dominant queen reproduces. Subordinate queens either leave the colony to found their own nests solitarily or by budding, or stay in the nest without reproducing, but may eventually replace the dominant queen. The interrelations of life history of L. gredleri , population structure and habitat characteristics are examined.