Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The source of males inMyrmica rubra L. (Hym. Formicidae)

Origine des mâles chez Myrmica rubraL. (Hym. Formicidae)

  • Published:
Insectes Sociaux Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

The aim of this work was to determine when and by which female caste the males are produced inMyrmica rubra L. In this species reproductive eggs laid by workers are in which workers produce eggs in the presence of queens were therefore investigated.

  1. - 1.

    Lipid dyes were fed to adult ants to mark their eggs in the field and laboratory in order to investigate worker egg production. The resulting data, along with those from sampling, strongly suggest newly-ecloding workers to be the primary, possibly sole, source of males.

  2. - 2.

    The dry weight of males produced in large artificial nests was positively correlated with the original number of workers which the nests contained, though not with the number of queens or the ratio of queens to workers.

  3. - 3.

    Egg sampling showed that male eggs were laid in late summer when there are many callow workers in the nests.

  4. - 4.

    Dissection of workers from field colonies showed that a higher proportion of callow and pale-coloured ants contain ova than do older ants.

Resume

Dans ce travail, on se propose d'établir à quel moment et par l'intermédiaire de quelle caste femelle les mâles apparaissent chezMyrmica rubra L. Chez cette espèce, les œufs reproducteurs pondus par les ouvrières sont toujours mâles mais la présence des reines supprime normalement leur production. Les conditions dans lesquelles les ouvrières produisent des œufs en présence des reines ont donc été étudiées en détail.

  1. - 1.

    Des fourmis adultes ont été nourries avec des colorants solubles dans les lipides afin de marquer les œufs; on peut ainsi étudier la production des ouvrières tant dans la nature qu'au laboratoire. Les résultats ainsi que les données issues d'échantillonnages suggèrent fortement que les ouvrières nouvellement nées sont les principales et peut-être même les seules pondeuses d'œufs mâles.

  2. - 2.

    Il y a une corrélation positive entre le poids sec des mâles produits dans de grands élevages artificiels et le nombre originel d'ouvrières contenues dans ces élevages; par contre il n'y a pas de relation entre ce même poids sec des mâles et le nombre de reines ou le ratio reines/ouvrières.

  3. - 3.

    Le prélèvement d'échantillons d'œufs dans la nature a montré que les œufs mâles sont pondus à la fin de l'été quand il y a beaucoup d'ouvrières nouvellement nées dans les nids.

  4. - 4.

    La dissection d'ouvrières prélevées dans la nature a montré que l'on trouve plus souvent des ovocytes chez les jeunes ouvrières que chez les plus âgées.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Brain M.V., 1953. — Oviposition by workers of the antMyrmica.Physiologia comp. Œcol., 3, 25–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1955. — Studies of caste differentiation inMyrmica rubra L. 3 Larval dormancy, winter size and vernalisation.Ins. Soc., 2, 85–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1963. — Studies of caste differentiation inMyrmica rubra L. 6. Factors influencing the course of female development in the early third instar.Ins. Soc., 10, 91–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1965. — Social Insect Populations. Academic Press, publ., London and New York, 135 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1967. — Regulation of sexual production in an ant society.C.N.R.S. Symp. 173, 61–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1969. — Male production in the antMyrmica rubra L.Ins. Soc., 16, 249–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1973 a. — Queen recognition by brood-rearing workers of the antMyrmica rubra L.,Anim. Behav., 21, 691–698.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1973 b. — Feeding and growth in the antMyrmica.J. Anim. Ecol., 42, 37–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1973 c. — Temperature choice and its relevance to brood survival and caste determination in the antMyrmica rubra L.,Physiol. Zool., 46, 245–252.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., 1975. — Caste determination through a queen influence on diapause in larvae of the antMyrmica rubra L.,Ent. exp. & appl., 18, 429–442.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., Abbott A., 1977. — The control of food flow in a society of the antMyrmica rubra L.,Anim. Behav., 25, 1047–1055.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., Carr C.A.H., 1960. — The influence of the queen on brood rearing in ants of the genus,Myrmica.J. Ins. Physiol., 5, 81–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., Kelly A.F., 1967. — Studies of caste differentiation inMyrmica rubra L., 9. Maternal environment and the caste bias of larvæ.Ins. Soc., 14, 13–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brian M.V., Rigby C., 1978. — The trophic eggs ofMyrmica rubra L.,Ins. Soc., 25, 89–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collingwood C.A., 1958. — Ants of the genusMyrmica in Britain.Proc. R. Ent. Soc., 33, 65–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawley W.C., 1911. — Parthenogenesis in worker ants, with special reference to two colonies ofLasius niger L.,Trans. R. Entom. Soc. Lond, 59, 657–663.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dejean A., Passera L., 1974. — Ponte des ouvrières et inhibition royale chez la fourmiTemnothorax recedens (Nyl.) (Formicidæ, Myrmicinæ).Ins. Soc., 21, 343–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elmes G., 1973. — Observations on the density of queens in natural colonies ofMyrmica rubra L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidæ).J. An. Ecol., 42, 761–771.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fielde A., 1905. — Observations on the progeny of virgin ants.Biol. Bull., 9 355–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton W.D., 1964. — The genetical evolution of social behaviour. Parts I and II.J. Theor. Biol., 7, 1–52.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton W.D., 1972. — Altruism and related phenomena mainly in social insects.Ann. Rev. Ecol. and System., 3, 193–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haskins C.P., Haskins E.F., 1950. — Notes of the biology and social behaviour of the archaic Ponerine ants of the generaMyrmecia andPromyrmecia.Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am., 43, 461–491.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lange R., 1958. — Der Einfluss der Königen auf die Futterverteilung im Ameisenstaat.Naturwissenschaften, 45, 196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leiby R.W., 1926. — The origin of mixed broods in polyembryonic Hymenoptera.Ent. Soc. Amer. Ann., 19, 290–299.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mamsch E., 1967. — Quantitative Untersuchungen zur Regulation der Fertilität im Ameisenstaat durch Arbeiterinnen, Larven und Königin,Z. vergl. Physiol., 55, 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montagner H., 1966. — Sur l'origine des males dans les sociétés de Guêpes du genreVespa.C.R. Acad. Sci. (Paris), 263, 785–787.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oster G.F., Wilson E.O., 1978. —Caste and Ecology in the Social Insects. Princeton University Press, publ., Princeton, New Jersey and Guildford, Surrey, 352 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peacock A.D., Smith I.C., Hall D.W., Baxter A.T., 1954. — Studies in Pharaoh's antMonomorium pharaonis L. 8. Male production by parthenogenesis.Ent. Month. Mag., 90, 154–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plateaux L., 1970. — Sur le polymorphisme social de la fourmiLeptothorax nylanderi (Föster). I. Morphologie et biologie comparées des castes.Ann. Sci Nat., Zool. Biol. Anim., 12, 373–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smeeton L., 1980. — Male production in the antMyrmica rubra L. Ph. D. unpubl.thesis, Univ. of Southampton.

  • Schmidt G.H., 1972. — Mannchendetermination im polygynen Waldameisenstaat.Zool. Anz., Leipzig, 189, 159–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr C.K., 1979. —Origin and Evolution of Insect Sociality: A Review of Modern Theory., In:H.R. Hermann (Ed.), Social Insects Volume 1. Academic Press, publ., New York, San Francisco, and London, 437 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stradling D.J., 1970. — The estimation of worker ant populations by the mark-releaserecapture method: an improved marking technique.J. Anim. Ecol., 39, 575–591.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trivers R.L., Hare H., 1976. — Haplodiploidy and the evolution of the social insects.Sci., 191, 249–263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir J.S., 1957. — Effect of anaesthetics on workers of the antMyrmica.J. Exper. Biol., 34, 464–468.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weir J.S., 1958. — The effect of temperature variation on queen oviposition and colony foundation inMyrmica.J. Ins., Physiol., 1, 352–360.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Furzebrook Research Station, Wareham, Dorset, England

    L. Smeeton

Authors
  1. L. Smeeton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Smeeton, L. The source of males inMyrmica rubra L. (Hym. Formicidae). Ins. Soc 28, 263–278 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223628

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223628

Keywords

Search

Navigation