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Behavioral and Chemical Correlates of Long-Term Queen Adoption in the Facultative Polygynous Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum

Journal of Insect Behavior volume 22, pages 362–374 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

In ants, queen adoption is a common way of achieving secondary polygyny but the mechanisms involved are little known. Here we studied the process of long-term adoptions of alien queens in the facultative polygynous ant Ectatomma tuberculatum. In eight out of 10 successful adoption experiments, all the introduced queens showed similar behavior and fecundity as the resident queens even after 2 months, indicating complete integration into the colony. Chemical analysis revealed that the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of resident and introduced queens were clearly distinct from those of workers and that they did not change after adoption. We propose that queen-specific cuticular hydrocarbon profile may represent a reliable signal of queen’s fertility and discuss about the evolution of high level of queen acceptance in E. tuberculatum.

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Abbreviations

Qr:

resident queen

Qa:

adopted queen

SPME:

solid phase micro extraction

GC/MS:

gas chromatography mass spectroscopy

CHC:

cuticular hydrocarbon

PCA:

principal component analyses

DA:

discriminant analysis

MSMD:

mean squared Mahalanobis distance

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Acknowledgements

L. Zinck received financial support from the French Ministry of Research and Technology and R.R. Hora from CNPq, Brazil (3098552003-9). Research was permitted by the Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology (licence 0107/2004).

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Author notes

  1. R. R. Hora

    Present address: Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, 36570-000, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire d’Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée (UMR CNRS 7153) Université Paris 13, 99 avenue J.-B. Clément, 93430, Villetaneuse, France

    L. Zinck, D. Denis & P. Jaisson

  2. U.P.A. Laboratório de Mirmecologia, Convêncio UESC/CEPLAC, Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau, C.P.7, 45600-000, Itabuna, Bahia, Brazil

    R. R. Hora

  3. Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    C. Alaux

  4. Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte (UMR CNRS 6035), Université de Tours, Tours, France

    A. Lenoir

  5. Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel

    A. Hefetz

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  1. L. Zinck
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Correspondence to L. Zinck.

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Zinck, L., Denis, D., Hora, R.R. et al. Behavioral and Chemical Correlates of Long-Term Queen Adoption in the Facultative Polygynous Ant Ectatomma tuberculatum . J Insect Behav 22, 362–374 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-009-9178-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-009-9178-z

Keywords

  • Formicidae
  • secondary polygyny
  • nestmate recognition
  • cuticular hydrocarbons
  • fertility signal