Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Further Ergatoid Gyne Records in the Ant Tribe Dacetini (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

  • Systematics, Morphology and Physiology
  • Published:
Neotropical Entomology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Variants of gynes and workers occur in a substantial number of ant species; however, dacetine ergatoid gynes have been recorded just once in the literature thus far. In the present paper, we provide abridged descriptions of five ergatoid female reproductives in five species of Neotropical dacetines belonging to two genera: Acanthognathus brevicornis Smith, Acanthognathus ocellatus Mayr, Acanthognathus rudis Brown & Kempf, Strumigenys cosmostela Kempf, and Strumigenys hindenburgi Forel. We also compare the ergatoids with conspecific gynes and workers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figs 1–6
Figs 7–12
Figs 13–18
Figs 19–22
Figs 23–26
Fig 27

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bolton B (2000) The ant tribe Dacetini. Mem Am Entomol Inst 65:1–1028

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolton B (2003) Synopsis and classification of Formicidae. Mem Am Entomol 71:1–370

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown WL (1961) The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: miscellaneous concluding studies. Psyche 68:58–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown WL, Kempf WW (1960) A world revision of the ant tribe Basicerotini. Stud Entomol 3:161–250

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown WL, Kempf WW (1969) A revision of the neotropical dacetine ant genus Acanthognathus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 76:87–109

  • De Andrade ML, Baroni Urbani C (1999) Diversity and adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes, past and present. Stutt Beitr Natkd B 271:1–889

    Google Scholar 

  • Diniz JLM (1998) Biology of Blepharidatta ants, the sister group of the Attini: a possible origin of fungus-ant symbiosis. Naturwissenschaften 85:270–274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Forel A (1915) Formicides d’Afrique et d’Amérique nouveaux ou peu connus. IIe partie. Bull Soc Vaud Sci Nat 50:335–364

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinze J (1998) Intercastes, intermorphs, and ergatoid queens: who is who in ant reproduction? Insectes Soc 45:113–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kempf WW (1975) Report on Neotropical Dacetine ant studies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev Bras Biol 34:411–424

  • Mann WM (1916) The Stanford expedition to Brazil, 1911, John C. Branner, Director. The ants of Brazil. Bull Mus Comp Zool 60:399–490

  • Mayr G (1887) Südamerikanische Formiciden. Verh geol Reichsanst 37:511–632

    Google Scholar 

  • Michener CD (1974) The social behavior of the bees. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Molet M, Fisher BL, Ito F, Peeters C (2009) Shift from independent to dependent colony foundation and evolution of ‘multi‐purpose’ ergatoid queens in Mystrium ants (subfamily Amblyoponinae). Biol J Linn Soc 98(1):198–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Molet M, Wheeler DE, Peeters C (2012) Evolution of novel mosaic castes in ants: modularity, phenotypic plasticity, and colonial buffering. Amer Nat 180(3):328–341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peeters C (2012) Convergent evolution of wingless reproductive across all subfamilies of ants, and sporadic loss of winged queens. Myrmecol News 16:75–91

    Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2008) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. (http://www.R-project.org)

  • Silva RR, Brandão CRF (2010) Morphological patterns and community organization in leaf-litter ant assemblages. Ecol Monographs 80(1):107–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith MR (1944) A key to the genus Acanthognathus Mayr, with the description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Proc Entomol Soc Wash 46:150–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler WM (1908) The polymorphism of ants. Ann Entomol Soc Am 1:39–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheeler DE (1986) Developmental and physiological determinants of caste in social Hymenoptera: evolutionary implications. Amer Nat 128:13–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson EO (1971) The insect societies. Belknap press of Harvard university press. Mass, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the collectors of the specimens here described and to Rogério R. Silva, Tiago Carrijo, and Rodolfo Probst for assistance with the formulation of the R scripts, especially regarding graphical parameters. Fernando Augusto Schmidt cordially loaned us an ergatoid of Strumigenys cosmostela, which was deposited in the Formicidae collection of the Universidade Federal de Viçosa. Also, three anonymous reviewers contributed with valuable comments and suggestions. We acknowledge the support by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior in the form of a grant to TSR Silva (CAPES) and support by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) to CRF Brandão.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lab de Hymenoptera, Museu de Zoologia, Univ de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil

    T S R Silva & C R F Brandão

Authors
  1. T S R Silva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C R F Brandão
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to T S R Silva.

Additional information

Edited by Takumasa Kondo – CORPOICA

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Silva, T.S.R., Brandão, C.R.F. Further Ergatoid Gyne Records in the Ant Tribe Dacetini (Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Neotrop Entomol 43, 161–171 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-013-0192-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-013-0192-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation