ants and Body-Weight

Many living organisms exhibit exceptional capabilities and have evolved effective strategies to synthesize impact-resistant and damage-tolerant structures. One such example can be observed in the rapid mandible strikes of

Topics: Animals; Ants; Bionics; Body Weight; Carbon Fiber; Mandible

The efficacy and mode of action of biodegradable chitosan (CS) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) organic polymer nanoparticles (NPs) on insects were studied. The prepared CS/CMCS-NPs were spherical with a particle size of 142.1 ± 2.0 nm. The swelling test showed that they were pH-sensitive, and the swelling rate was 554 % at pH 4.5. It was found that CS/CMCS-NPs had insecticidal efficacy against red fire ants (S. invicta). The mortality of red fire ants on the 6th day after treatment with 0.2 % and 0.06 % CS/CMCS-NPs suspensions was 98.33 ± 1.67 % and 48.33 ± 3.33 %, respectively. After CS/CMCS-NPs treatment, the food intake, growth, and development of red fire ants were inhibited; the midgut was significantly expanded; and the activity of digestive enzymes in the midgut was decreased. Our findings suggest that CS/CMCS-NPs mainly inhibited the digestion function of the midgut, leading to the death of red fire ants.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Chitosan; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Insecticides; Lipase; Nanoparticles; Peptide Hydrolases

In ants, dispersal strategies and morphology of female sexuals are generally linked to the mode of colony founding. In species using long-range dispersal tactics, queen/worker dimorphism is generally high and young queens are able to initiate new colonies by themselves, using their metabolic reserves. By contrast, in species using short-range dispersal strategies, queen/worker dimorphism is generally low and, due to their limited metabolic reserves, queens have lost the capacity to raise their brood alone and to found their colony independently. Moreover, polygyny is also often associated with short-range dispersal strategies, although the relationship between the number of queens and the dispersal strategy in ants is not clear-cut. Here, dispersal strategies were investigated in C. pygmaea, a highly polygynous and polydomous ant species from northeastern Brazil. Field observations and laboratory experiments show that this ant exhibits a suite of traits that are more commonly associated with long-range dispersal and independent colony foundation: functional wings in both males and females, high queen/worker dimorphism, strong weight loss in mature queens, nuptial flights and, in the lab, ability of young queens to found new colonies in haplometrotic conditions. On the other hand, this species shows a high degree of polygyny with a strong seasonal component, and, at least under laboratory conditions, mature queens seem able to develop propagules if they are accompanied by at least 10 workers. These features strongly suggest that (1) some of the gynes do not engage in a long-range dispersal but become new queens in their mother colony and (2) that budding events are possible in this species. We therefore speculate that C. pygmaea has a dual dispersal strategy probably related to environmental conditions: some gynes engage in long-range dispersal followed by independent colony foundation at the beginning of rainy season, while others mate in the parental colony and are re-adopted leading to high polygyny. During the rainy season, budding events can lead to colony extension and increased polydomy. Polydomy is commonly thought to improve resource discovery and exploitation through decentralized foraging behavior, a significant advantage during the rainy season when food ressources (mainly floral/extrafloral nectaries and hemipteran honeydew) are more abundant and when colony needs for food supplies are highest.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Female; Flight, Animal; Hierarchy, Social; Movement; Organ Size; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Thorax

Trophic specialists are expected to possess adaptations that increase the efficiency of handling preferred prey. Such adaptations may constrain the ability to utilise alternative prey. Here we tested whether the ant-eating spider Euryopis episinoides possesses metabolic specialisations with increased efficiency in utilising preferred prey and decreased efficiency in utilising alternative prey. In addition, we investigated the contribution of genetic variation via maternal effects. We reared E. episinoides spiders from the first instar on two different diets, either ants (preferred prey) or fruit flies (alternative prey). Spider survival rate and increases in body mass were significantly higher on the ant diet. The total development time did not differ between diet groups, nor did the number of egg sacs per female or the incubation period. However, the number of eggs per egg sac and hatching success were higher on the ant diet. There was a genetic variation in several offspring traits. Our data support the hypothesis that stenophagous ant-eating E. episinoides have a metabolic specialisation on ant utilisation indicated by higher efficiency in utilising ants than fruit flies. While most individuals of E. episinoides were able to capture fruit flies, only very few spiders were able to develop and reproduce on a pure fruit fly diet, suggesting the existence of within-species genetic variation regarding the tolerance to alternative prey.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Drosophila melanogaster; Energy Metabolism; Feeding Behavior; Female; Ovum; Predatory Behavior; Species Specificity; Spiders

The potential contributions of B vitamins by a yeast associate to the nutrition of the carpenter ant Camponotus vicinus Mayr was examined as part of an effort to develop a chemically defined diet. This diet was used to test the effects of individual B vitamin and other nutrient deletions on larval development. The chemically defined diet contained amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and other growth factors in a liquid sucrose matrix. C. vicinus worker colonies with third- and fourth-instar larvae were fed a complete artificial diet or that diet with a component deleted for a 12-wk period. There was a significant effect of diet on larval growth and number of adult worker ants produced in the overall nutrient deletion test, but ant development was often better on incomplete diets with one B vitamin deleted compared with the complete holidic basal diet. Thiamine deletion resulted in significantly higher brood weights compared with the complete diet. Diets of sugar water plus all B vitamins, sugar water only, or a diet minus all B vitamins and cholesterol were associated with significantly lower brood weights. Significantly more adult worker ants were produced by worker colonies fed diets minus cholesterol, choline, thiamine, or riboflavin compared with the complete basal diet. The results suggest that the diet, while suitable for rearing, could benefit from further study to better define component levels. The potential relationship of C. vicinus with yeast associates is discussed in relation to further studies.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Diet; Larva; Vitamin B Complex; Vitamin B Deficiency

In mutualistic interactions, partners obtain a net benefit, but there may also be costs associated with the provision of benefits for a partner. The question of whether aphids suffer such costs when attended by ants has been raised in previous work. Transgenerational effects, where offspring phenotypes are adjusted based on maternal influences, could be important in the mutualistic interaction between aphids and ants, in particular because aphids have telescoping generations where two offspring generations can be present in a mature aphid. We investigated the immediate and transgenerational influence of ant tending on aphid life history and reproduction by observing the interaction between the facultative myrmecophile Aphis fabae and the ant Lasius niger over 13 aphid generations in the laboratory. We found that the effect of ant tending changes dynamically over successive aphid generations after the start of tending. Initially, total aphid colony weight, aphid adult weight and aphid embryo size decreased compared with untended aphids, consistent with a cost of ant association, but these differences disappeared within four generations of interaction. We conclude that transgenerational effects are important in the aphid-ant interactions and that the costs for aphids of being tended by ants can vary over generations.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Aphids; Bayes Theorem; Body Weight; Linear Models; Reproduction; Symbiosis; Time Factors; United Kingdom

The thermal limits of individual animals were originally proposed as a link between animal physiology and thermal ecology. Although this link is valid in theory, the evaluation of physiological tolerances involves some problems that are the focus of this study. One rationale was that heating rates shall influence upper critical limits, so that ecological thermal limits need to consider experimental heating rates. In addition, if thermal limits are not surpassed in experiments, subsequent tests of the same individual should yield similar results or produce evidence of hardening. Finally, several non-controlled variables such as time under experimental conditions and procedures may affect results. To analyze these issues we conducted an integrative study of upper critical temperatures in a single species, the ant Atta sexdens rubropiosa, an animal model providing large numbers of individuals of diverse sizes but similar genetic makeup. Our specific aims were to test the 1) influence of heating rates in the experimental evaluation of upper critical temperature, 2) assumptions of absence of physical damage and reproducibility, and 3) sources of variance often overlooked in the thermal-limits literature; and 4) to introduce some experimental approaches that may help researchers to separate physiological and methodological issues. The upper thermal limits were influenced by both heating rates and body mass. In the latter case, the effect was physiological rather than methodological. The critical temperature decreased during subsequent tests performed on the same individual ants, even one week after the initial test. Accordingly, upper thermal limits may have been overestimated by our (and typical) protocols. Heating rates, body mass, procedures independent of temperature and other variables may affect the estimation of upper critical temperatures. Therefore, based on our data, we offer suggestions to enhance the quality of measurements, and offer recommendations to authors aiming to compile and analyze databases from the literature.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Behavior, Animal; Body Size; Body Temperature; Body Weight; Climate Change; Ecology; Hot Temperature; Models, Animal; Models, Biological; Plant Leaves; Reproducibility of Results; Temperature

The hunting behavior of the African ponerine ant Pachycondyla pachyderma, a semi-specialized centipede predator, appears well adapted to this kind of prey and shows a graded complexity according to the difficulty it has in overwhelming prey. Small prey (5 to 8 mm-long termites) were detected by contact and seized by the thorax while larger prey (≥30 mm-long centipedes) were frequently detected from a distance and seized by the anterior-most part of their body. Termites and 30 mm-long lithobiomorph centipedes were not always stung, whereas stinging and even repeated stinging was needed for 50 mm-long geophilomorphs and scolopendromorphs. Moreover, overwhelming wide and heavy scolopendromorphs, which have better defensive abilities, involved the use of additional behaviors allowing the workers to capture them safely: venom spreading, and a peculiar stinging posture, the "fatal embrace". Here the workers seize scolopendromorphs by an antenna or by one of their first legs, wrap themselves around the prey while maintaining their grip with their mandibles and legs, and slowly inject venom into the prey's ventral surface. Workers retrieve small prey solitarily while, for large geophilomorphs and scolopendromorphs, nestmates can be recruited at short range or even at long range through tandem running.

Topics: Animals; Ant Venoms; Ants; Arachnida; Bites and Stings; Body Weight; Feeding Behavior; Female; Isoptera; Predatory Behavior

Extensive studies of vertebrates have shown that brain size scales to body size following power law functions. Most animals are substantially smaller than vertebrates, and extremely small animals face significant challenges relating to nervous system design and function, yet little is known about their brain allometry. Within a well-defined monophyletic taxon, Formicidae (ants), we analyzed how brain size scales to body size. An analysis of brain allometry for individuals of a highly polymorphic leaf-cutter ant, Atta colombica, shows that allometric coefficients differ significantly for small (<1.4 mg body mass) versus large individuals (b = 0.6003 and 0.2919, respectively). Interspecifically, allometric patterns differ for small (<0.9 mg body mass) versus large species (n = 70 species). Using mean values for species, the allometric coefficient for smaller species (b = 0.7961) is significantly greater than that for larger ones (b = 0.669). The smallest ants had brains that constitute ∼15% of their body mass, yet their brains were relatively smaller than predicted by an overall allometric coefficient of brain to body size. Our comparative and intraspecific studies show the extent to which nervous systems can be miniaturized in taxa exhibiting behavior that is apparently comparable to that of larger species or individuals.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Size; Body Weight; Brain; Classification; Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted

Complex phenotypes can be modeled as networks of component traits connected by genetic, developmental, or functional interactions. Aposematism, which has evolved multiple times in poison frogs (Dendrobatidae), links a warning signal to a chemical defense against predators. Other traits are involved in this complex phenotype. Most aposematic poison frogs are ant specialists, from which they sequester defensive alkaloids. We found that aposematic species have greater aerobic capacity, also related to diet specialization. To characterize the aposematic trait network more fully, we analyzed phylogenetic correlations among its hypothesized components: conspicuousness, chemical defense, diet specialization, body mass, active and resting metabolic rates, and aerobic scope. Conspicuous coloration was correlated with all components except resting metabolism. Structural equation modeling on the basis of trait correlations recovered "aposematism" as one of two latent variables in an integrated phenotypic network, the other being scaling with body mass and physiology ("scale"). Chemical defense and diet specialization were uniquely tied to aposematism whereas conspicuousness was related to scale. The phylogenetic distribution of the aposematic syndrome suggests two scenarios for its evolution: (i) chemical defense and conspicuousness preceded greater aerobic capacity, which supports the increased resource-gathering abilities required of ant-mite diet specialization; and (ii) assuming that prey are patchy, diet specialization and greater aerobic capacity evolved in tandem, and both traits subsequently facilitated the evolution of aposematism.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Anura; Biological Evolution; Body Weight; Eating; Food Chain; Mites; Phylogeny

Factors that affect water loss rates (WLRs) are poorly known for organisms in natural habitats. Seed-harvester ant queens provide an ideal system for examining such factors because WLRs for mated queens excavated from their incipient nests are twofold to threefold higher than those of alate queens. Indirect data suggest that this increase results from soil particles abrading the cuticle during nest excavation. This study provides direct support for the cuticle abrasion hypothesis by measuring total mass-specific WLRs, cuticular abrasion, cuticular transpiration, respiratory water loss and metabolic rate for queens of the ant Messor pergandei at three stages: unmated alate queens, newly mated dealate queens (undug foundresses) and mated queens excavated from their incipient nest (dug foundresses); in addition we examined these processes in artificially abraded alate queens. Alate queens had low WLRs and low levels of cuticle abrasion, whereas dug foundresses had high WLRs and high levels of cuticle abrasion. Total WLR and cuticular transpiration were lowest for alate queens, intermediate for undug foundresses and highest for dug foundresses. Respiratory water loss contributed ~10% of the total WLR and was lower for alate queens and undug foundresses than for dug foundresses. Metabolic rate did not vary across stages. Total WLR and cuticular transpiration of artificially abraded alate queens increased, whereas respiratory water loss and metabolic rate were unaffected. Overall, increased cuticular transpiration accounted for essentially all the increased total water loss in undug and dug foundresses and artificially abraded queens. Artificially abraded queens and dug foundresses showed partial recovery after 14 days.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Carbon Dioxide; Desert Climate; Female; Hierarchy, Social; Integumentary System; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Steam; Water Loss, Insensible

Evolutionary co-option of existing structures for new functions is a powerful yet understudied mechanism for generating novelty. Trap-jaw ants of the predatory genus Odontomachus are capable of some of the fastest self-propelled appendage movements ever recorded; their devastating strikes are not only used to disable and capture prey, but produce enough force to launch the ants into the air. We tested four Odontomachus species in a variety of behavioral contexts to examine if their mandibles have been co-opted for an escape mechanism through ballistic propulsion. We found that nest proximity makes no difference in interactions with prey, but that prey size has a strong influence on the suite of behaviors employed by the ants. In trials involving a potential threat (another trap-jaw ant species), vertical jumps were significantly more common in ants acting as intruders than in residents (i.e. a dangerous context), while horizontal jumps occurred at the same rate in both contexts. Additionally, horizontal jump trajectories were heavily influenced by the angle at which the substrate was struck and appear to be under little control by the ant. We conclude that while horizontal jumps may be accidental side-effects of strikes against hard surfaces, vertical escape jumps are likely intentional defensive behaviors that have been co-opted from the original prey-gathering and food-processing functions of Odontomachus jaws.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Behavior, Animal; Body Size; Body Weight; Ecosystem; Feeding Behavior; Motor Activity; Movement; Predatory Behavior

Offspring quality and quantity are subject to a trade-off. Depending on species, ant colonies can produce either numerous winged queens that start new colonies alone (independent colony foundation [ICF]) or one propagule consisting of reproductives helped by workers (fission). Some species do both. In the Rhytidoponera impressa group, colonies with winged queens use ICF, whereas colonies with mated workers use fission. We assessed the effect of latitude and environment on colonial reproduction by collecting 79 colonies along the Australian east coast. A population dynamical model predicted that from tropical north to temperate south, seasonal fluctuations and harsher conditions should lead to a decrease in ICF success (-48%), making fission a suitable alternative. Yet, our empirical data showed that ICF persists at a higher rate than expected, presumably because it allows aerial dispersal, unlike fission. Investigation of colony demography and measurement of lean and fat weights in virgin winged queens and workers showed that, from north to south, colonies increase quality of queens relative to workers (+50%) at the cost of quantity (-86%). This modification limits the decrease in ICF success (-34%). A tremendous range of offspring phenotypes associated with quality-quantity trade-offs make ants competitive in diverse habitats.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Behavior, Animal; Body Weight; Ecosystem; Female; Male; Reproduction; Social Behavior; Temperature; Tropical Climate

Newly mated queens (NMQs) originating from monogyne red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) colonies and following a mating flight, initiate new colonies by sealing themselves in a nuptial chamber and relying solely on their own fat and crop reserves, as well as no longer needed wing muscles to rear their first workers (claustral colony foundation). This method of colony-founding is rarely successful for polygyne-derived NMQs, whose low weight critically limits the number of first workers they are able to produce. However, this observation may be confounded by the parasitic microsporidium, Thelohania solenopsae, thus far found to persist only in association with polygyne colonies. Infections of this microsporidium reduce the weight of female alates and may explain why polygyne NMQs are unlikely to successfully found colonies claustrally. NMQs collected following mating flights in Gainesville and Ocala, Florida were sorted by weight, checked for insemination and T. solenopsae infection. Insemination levels were greater than 90% for all weight classes at both collection sites and were not related to infection. Infection levels were lower in Gainesville than Ocala, averaging 1.67% and 14.14%, respectively. Polygyne-derived NMQs collected in Ocala, defined here as weighing 12mg (social form correctly assigned in 85% of samples examined by PCR), had the highest infection levels, 25.37% (17/67) in 2003 and 21.43% (6/28) in 2004. We conclude that infection by T. solenopsae cannot be completely responsible for the inability of polygyne NMQs to claustrally establish colonies.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Breeding; Female; Florida; Insemination; Male; Microsporidia; Microsporidiosis; Population Dynamics; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Social Behavior

Some populations of Pogonomyrmex harvester ants comprise pairs of highly differentiated lineages with queens mating at random with several males of their own and of the alternate lineage. These queens produce two types of diploid offspring, those fertilized by males of the queens' lineage which develop into new queens and those fertilized by males of the other lineage which mostly develop into functionally sterile workers. This unusual mode of genetic caste determination has been found in 26 populations and a total of four lineage pairs (F(1)-F(2), G(1)-G(2), H(1)-H(2) and J(1)-J(2)) have been described in these populations. Despite the fact that a few interlineage queens are produced, previous studies revealed that there is a complete lack of genetic introgression between lineages. Here we quantify the proportion of interlineage queens produced in each of the four lineage pairs and determine the fate of these queens. In the F(1)-F(2), G(1)-G(2) and H(1)-H(2) lineage pairs, interlineage queens were produced by a minority of colonies. These colonies exclusively produced interlineage queens and workers, suggesting that interlineage eggs can develop into queens in these three pairs of lineages in the absence of competition with pure-lineage brood. An analysis of three key stages of the colony life cycle revealed that colonies headed by interlineage queens failed to grow sufficiently to produce reproductive individuals. In laboratory comparisons, interlineage queens produced fewer viable eggs, with the effect that they raised fewer workers and lost more weight per worker produced than pure-lineage queens. In the J(1)-J(2) lineage pair, we did not find a single interlineage queen, raising the possibility that interlineage eggs have completely lost the ability to develop into queens in this lineage pair. Hence, two distinct mechanisms seem to account for the complete lack of between-lineage gene flow in the F(1)-F(2), G(1)-G(2), H(1)-H(2) and J(1)-J(2) lineage pairs.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Gene Flow; Genotype; Ovum; Phylogeny; Reproduction; Selection, Genetic; Sexual Behavior, Animal

Both sexes of adult western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae), released three volatile chemicals in relatively large amounts when attacked by ants (Pogonomyrmex rugosus and Solenopsis xyloni) or when grabbed by forceps, as determined by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The relative amounts of the volatile compounds, hexyl butyrate, (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal, and (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate, absorbed by SPME as a percentage of the largest were 100%, 44%, and 4%, respectively, from females, and 83%, 37%, and 3% from males. Both ant species were repelled by the defensive discharges (confirmed by SPME) when the ants attacked L. hesperus adults. Sexually mature L. hesperus were individually extracted in pentane to quantify the mean amounts of hexyl butyrate (14.9 microg/female; 10.3 microg/male), (E)-4-oxo-2-hexenal (2.7 microg/female; 3.1 microg/male), and (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate (1.2 microg/female; 0.6 microg/male). (E)-4-Oxo-2-hexenal was unstable in solvent when in contact with a macerated adult, but relatively stable when the solution was decanted within minutes. The production of the three major volatile components began soon after the emergence of the adult and amounts increased for about 5-10 d with little or no increase thereafter. Minor additional constituents were cross-correlated in many cases with the three major ones. A cost of defensive secretion is suggested for females but not for males, because heavier females produced more volatile compounds than lighter females. The initial discharge percentage, defined as the proportion of volatile compounds initially present that is discharged to defend against predation was estimated at about 50% in males and 70% in females. Newly eclosed adults did not produce volatile chemicals until 2 d after molting.

Topics: Aging; Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Female; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Heteroptera; Male; Organic Chemicals; Predatory Behavior; Solid Phase Microextraction; Volatilization

When social interactions occur, the phenotype of an individual is influenced directly by its own genes (direct genetic effects) but also indirectly by genes expressed in social partners (indirect genetic effects). Social insect colonies are characterized by extensive behavioral interactions among workers, brood, and queens so that indirect genetic effects are particularly relevant. I used a series of experimental manipulations to disentangle the contribution of direct effects, maternal (queen) effects, and sibsocial (worker) effects to variation for worker, gyne, and male mass; caste ratio; and sex ratio in the ant Temnothorax curvispinosus. The results indicate genetic variance for direct, maternal, and sibsocial effects for all traits, except for male mass there was no significant maternal variance, and for sex ratio the variance for direct effects was not separable from maternal variance for the primary sex ratio. Estimates of genetic correlations between direct, maternal, and sibsocial effects were generally negative, indicating that these effects may not evolve independently. These results have broad implications for social insect evolution. For example, the genetic architecture underlying social insect traits may constrain the realization of evolutionary conflicts between social partners.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Female; Male; Phenotype; Quantitative Trait, Heritable; Selection, Genetic; Sex Ratio; Social Behavior

Numerous non-flying arboreal vertebrates use controlled descent (either parachuting or gliding sensu stricto) to avoid predation or to locate resources, and directional control during a jump or fall is thought to be an important stage in the evolution of flight. Here we show that workers of the neotropical ant Cephalotes atratus L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) use directed aerial descent to return to their home tree trunk with >80% success during a fall. Videotaped falls reveal that C. atratus workers descend abdomen-first through steep glide trajectories at relatively high velocities; a field experiment shows that falling ants use visual cues to locate tree trunks before they hit the forest floor. Smaller workers of C. atratus, and smaller species of Cephalotes more generally, regain contact with their associated tree trunk over shorter vertical distances than do larger workers. Surveys of common arboreal ants suggest that directed descent occurs in most species of the tribe Cephalotini and arboreal Pseudomyrmecinae, but not in arboreal ponerimorphs or Dolichoderinae. This is the first study to document the mechanics and ecological relevance of this form of locomotion in the Earth's most diverse lineage, the insects.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Flight, Animal; Locomotion; Panama; Trees; Video Recording

Body mass shapes processes from cell metabolism to community dynamics. Little is known, however, about how the average body mass of individuals varies among ecological communities. Ants alter colony mass by independently changing worker mass and/or worker number. In a survey of 49 ecosystems from tundra to tropical rainforest, average worker mass and worker number were uncorrelated (r(s) = 0.2, P > 0.14) and varied 100-fold. Data supported the hypothesis that higher mean monthly temperatures, T, reduce worker mass by increasing metabolic costs during worker development. In contrast, worker number was unimodal over a 1,000-fold gradient of net primary productivity (NPP, g of carbon per m2 per yr), a measure of organic carbon available to consumers. At the lowest levels of NPP colonies appeared to be carbon-limited; above 60 g of carbon per m2 per yr average worker number decreased to a global low. This decline in worker number with increasing NPP supports the hypothesis that abundant carbon ameliorates the Achilles heel of small taxa in competition with large taxa: their relatively high metabolic demands. Higher predation rates in resource-rich environments may also play a role in limiting worker number. In all, about half the global variation in worker mass and number was accounted for by gradients of NPP and T. Changes in global temperature and rainfall may thus mold gradients of ectotherm size, with consequences for the structure and function of the ecosystems.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Carbon; Ecosystem; Energy Metabolism; Female; Male; Reproduction; Social Behavior; Temperature

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Female; Male; Microsporida; Microsporidiosis; Pest Control, Biological

Mating success in the western harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, increases with male size. We tested the hypothesis that increased mating success increases male fitness and the fitness of colonies that make large males by comparing the sperm content of males prior to and at the conclusion of the mating swarm. The number of sperm a male initially possesses is a function of male size, and large males transfer a greater proportion of their sperm than do small males. For colonies, the payoff per unit of investment is an increasing function of male size, and investment in large males is not equivalent to investing in a larger number of small males. Allocation ratios in species that show size variation in reproductives may need to be modified by the individual fitness functions.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Constitution; Body Weight; Female; Male; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Social Behavior; Spermatozoa

A polymorphism in growth rates was recently described affecting the larval development of the myrmecophilous butterfly Maculinea rebeli, spanning different years in a single insect population. The close integration of M. rebeli into the host ant colonies, facilitated by adaptations in behaviour and chemical mimicry, make extended larval development a successful strategy. Here we present additional data for M. rebeli and new data for Maculinea alcon (another cuckoo-feeding lycaenid) and the two myrmecophilous predators Maculinea arion and Microdon mutabilis (Diptera: Syrphidae). As predicted, M. alcon shows the same growth pattern as M. rebeli with a proportion of caterpillars developing in one year and the remainder over two years. This pattern holds in both northern and southern European populations, where M. alcon exploits different species of host. Against expectation, the same bimodal distribution of pre-pupation body weights, indicating one and two year developers, was found for the larvae of M. arion and M. mutabilis. As predators, both species are less closely integrated in their host ant colonies, suggesting that the polymorphism in growth rates is a more general adaptation to a myrmecophilous life style, arrived at by convergent evolution between the Maculinea and Microdon species. For predatory species we suggest that biennialism is an adaptation to the migratory behaviour of the host made possible by the predators' ability to fast over extended periods. We also hypothesize that M. arion represents an ancestral strategy in Maculinea butterflies and that the growth polymorphism might have become genetically fixed in the cuckoo-feeding species.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Butterflies; Diptera; Larva; Polymorphism, Genetic; Predatory Behavior

Topics: Animals; Ants; Bees; Behavior, Animal; Body Weight; Brain; Elephants; Female; Humans; Learning; Male; Mammals

Brain morphology, with special attention to the three dimensional form of the corpora pedunculata, was studied in thirteen species of ants, representing four subfamilies of Formicidae. The results can be summarized as follows. (1) The neural systems processing optic and olfactory information differ in the evolutionary history among the studied taxa. A positive correlation can be demonstrated in the phylogenetic history of the corpora pedunculata, central body, cerebral bridge and olfactory lobe, but not the optic lobe. Ant species with very large eyes and thus, probably, highly developed vision, show gigantic optic lobes, with no exaggeration of any other brain structure. (2) More social species have more complex chemical communication systems and better developed corpora pedunculata (more surface in foldings of the calyces) and olfactory lobes; however, this tendency seems to reverse in highly social species with a sophisticated polymorphic caste system: individuals of these species are generally less developed neurally. (3) There are differences between the form of the internal and external calyces of the corpora pedunculata, and these differences are proportionately more pronounced in species with complex social organization. (4) Individuals from different worker castes of the same species differ in their brain morphology, but each species shows a different pattern of variation among their castes. (5) Brain structure shows characteristic marks due to the different phylogenetic developments in the taxa studied. For example the trends in brain volume-body size ratio are different for the various subfamilies, suggesting a divergent phylogenetic history.

Topics: Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Brain; Olfactory Bulb; Organ Size; Social Environment; Species Specificity

Topics: 1-Propanol; Animals; Ants; Body Weight; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry; Cockroaches; Insecta; Insecticides; Methods; Mirex; Pesticide Residues; Solvents

Topics: Anatomy, Comparative; Ants; Body Height; Body Weight; Ecology; Humans