TY - JOUR
T1 - Colony structure and reproduction in the thelytokous parthenogenetic ant platythyrea punctata (F. Smith) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
AU - Schilder, K.
AU - Heinze, J.
AU - Hölldobler, B.
N1 - Funding Information:
Thanks are due to J. Gadau, O. Rüppell, S. Cover, and L. Davis for help in collecting the ants in the field. We are grateful to M. Deyrup, Arch-bold Biological Station, and J. Torres, University of Puerto Rico, for valuable advice on the natural history of the species. Thanks to U. Raub for help on statistics and three anonymous reviewers for very helpful criticism. Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (He 1623/5–2).
PY - 1999
Y1 - 1999
N2 - An important evolutionary characteristic of the formicine subfamily Ponerinae is the occurrence of various alternative reproductive tactics within single species. In Platythyrea punctata Smith, 1858, queens, gamergates and parthenogenetic workers co-occur in the same species. Morphological queens, both alate and dealate, were present in only 29 percent of the colonies collected in Florida, but absent from colonies collected in Barbados and Puerto Rico. One of the six queens which were dissected (three alate and three dealate) was found to be inseminated but not fertile. Instead, in most queenless colonies, a single uninseminated worker monopolized reproduction by means of thelytokous parthenogenesis, i.e., it produced female offspring from unfertilized eggs. A single mated, reproductive worker (gamergate) was found dominating reproduction in the presence of an inseminated alate queen in one of the Florida colonies. Thelytokous parthenogenesis was examined in artificial groups of virgin laboratory-reared workers, where one worker typically monopolized reproduction despite the presence of several individuals with elongated ovaries. In 16 colonies collected in Florida, a total of 66 individuals differed morphologically from queens and workers. Their thorax morphology varied from a worker-like to an almost queenlike structure. We refer to these individuals as 'intercastes' (sensu Peeters, 1991a). The remarkable complexity of reproductive strategies renders P. punctata unique within ants.
AB - An important evolutionary characteristic of the formicine subfamily Ponerinae is the occurrence of various alternative reproductive tactics within single species. In Platythyrea punctata Smith, 1858, queens, gamergates and parthenogenetic workers co-occur in the same species. Morphological queens, both alate and dealate, were present in only 29 percent of the colonies collected in Florida, but absent from colonies collected in Barbados and Puerto Rico. One of the six queens which were dissected (three alate and three dealate) was found to be inseminated but not fertile. Instead, in most queenless colonies, a single uninseminated worker monopolized reproduction by means of thelytokous parthenogenesis, i.e., it produced female offspring from unfertilized eggs. A single mated, reproductive worker (gamergate) was found dominating reproduction in the presence of an inseminated alate queen in one of the Florida colonies. Thelytokous parthenogenesis was examined in artificial groups of virgin laboratory-reared workers, where one worker typically monopolized reproduction despite the presence of several individuals with elongated ovaries. In 16 colonies collected in Florida, a total of 66 individuals differed morphologically from queens and workers. Their thorax morphology varied from a worker-like to an almost queenlike structure. We refer to these individuals as 'intercastes' (sensu Peeters, 1991a). The remarkable complexity of reproductive strategies renders P. punctata unique within ants.
KW - Colony structure
KW - Gamergate
KW - Intercaste
KW - Ponerinae
KW - Thelytokous parthenogenesis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0032999812&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0032999812&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s000400050126
DO - 10.1007/s000400050126
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0032999812
SN - 0020-1812
VL - 46
SP - 150
EP - 158
JO - Insectes Sociaux
JF - Insectes Sociaux
IS - 2
ER -