Abstract
This work describes the transformation of the nest complex of a facultatively dominant species, Formica cunicularia, which was naturally colonized by the families of obligate dominants, Formica pratensis and Lasius fuliginosus. The complex was under observation from 2003 to 2013. During this period, F. pratensis families almost completely replaced F. cunicularia in the tenth part of the territory of this multispecies association. The family L. fuliginosus did not exert such an effect on the settlement of the facultative dominant. The study addresses the interaction of foragers of the species that found themselves in the zone of F. pratensis invasion, the dynamics of expansion of the dominant’s foraging areas, and the changes in the multispecies formicary association on the whole. It is shown that, even with different peaceful coexistence mechanisms at work, the alteration of the association occurs through attacks of the obligate dominant on the neighboring families. The progress of this process and possible key situations are considered.
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Original Russian Text © E.V. Burgov, 2015, published in Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 2015, Vol. 94, No. 10, pp. 1200–1210.
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Burgov, E.V. The multispecies formicary association: the transition from an incomplete to a complete association. Entmol. Rev. 95, 1010–1020 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0013873815080084
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0013873815080084