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Fecundity of ant queens in relation to their age and the mode of colony founding

Fécondité des reines de fourmis en relation avec leur âge et le mode de fondation de la société

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Summary

The change over time in the fecundity and weight of queens was investigated in three monogynous, independent colony founding species,Lasius niger, Camponotus ligniperda andC. herculaneus, and two polygynous dependent colony founding species,Plagiolepis pygmaea andIridomyrmex humilis. Queens of the three species founding independently exhibited a similar pattern with a significant loss of weight between mating and the emergence of the first workers. In contrast, weights of queens of the species employing dependent colony founding remained more stable. Fecundity of queens founding independently increased slowly with time whereas fecundity of queens founding dependently reached the maximum level some weeks after the beginning of the first reproductive season. These results are discussed in relation to some differences in the life history (e.g., life-span) between queens utilizing independent and dependent colony founding.

Resume

On a étudé dans ce travail les variations en fonction du temps de la fécondité et du poids des reines fondatrices de trois espèces monogynes à fondation indépendante (Lasius niger, Camponotus ligniperda, Camponotus herculeanus) et de deux espèces polygynes à fondation dépendante (Plagiolepis pygmaea etIridomyrmex humilis). Les reines fondatrices des trois espèces à fondation indépendante montrent des similitudes avec une perte de poids significative entre le moment de l'accouplement et celui de l'émergence des premières ouvrières. A l'inverse, le poids des jeunes reines à fondation dépendante reste plus stable après l'accouplement. La fécondité des reines fondant de manière indépendante augmente lentement avec le temps, alors que celle des reines fondant de façon dépendante atteint son niveau maximal quelques semaines seulement après le début de la première saison d'activité. Ces résultats sont discutés dans le cadre des différences phénologiques (comme par exemple l'espérance de vie) qui apparaissent entre les reines pratiquant les deux types de fondation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Musée Zoologique, Palais de Rumine, CP 448, 1000, Lausanne 17, Switzerland

    L. Keller

  2. Laboratoire d'Entomologie, Université Paul Sabatier, U.A. C.N.R.S. 303, 118, route de Narbonne, F 31062, Toulouse Cedex, France

    L. Passera

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Keller, L., Passera, L. Fecundity of ant queens in relation to their age and the mode of colony founding. Ins. Soc 37, 116–130 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02224025

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