Queen number influences the timing of the sexual production in colonies of Cardiocondyla ants

Suefuji M, Cremer S, Oettler J, Heinze J. 2008. Queen number influences the timing of the sexual production in colonies of Cardiocondyla ants. Biology Letters. 4(6), 670–673.

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Journal Article | Published | English
Author
Suefuji, Masaki; Cremer, SylviaISTA ; Oettler, Jan; Heinze, Jürgen
Abstract
Wingless males of the ant genus Cardiocondyla engage in fatal fighting for access to female sexual nestmates. Older, heavily sclerotized males are usually capable of eliminating all younger rivals, whose cuticle is still soft. In Cardiocondyla sp. A, this type of local mate competition (LMC) has turned the standard pattern of brood production of social insects upside down, in that mother queens in multi-queen colonies produce extremely long-lived sons very early in the life cycle of the colony. Here, we investigated the emergence pattern of sexuals in two species with LMC, in which males are much less long-lived. Queens of Cardiocondyla obscurior and Cardiocondyla minutior reared their first sons significantly earlier in multi-queen than in single-queen societies. In addition, first female sexuals also emerged earlier in multi-queen colonies, so that early males had mating opportunities. Hence, the timing of sexual production appears to be well predicted by evolutionary theory, in particular by local mate and queen–queen competition.
Publishing Year
Date Published
2008-12-23
Journal Title
Biology Letters
Volume
4
Issue
6
Page
670 - 673
IST-REx-ID

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Suefuji M, Cremer S, Oettler J, Heinze J. Queen number influences the timing of the sexual production in colonies of Cardiocondyla ants. Biology Letters. 2008;4(6):670-673. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0355
Suefuji, M., Cremer, S., Oettler, J., & Heinze, J. (2008). Queen number influences the timing of the sexual production in colonies of Cardiocondyla ants. Biology Letters. Royal Society, The. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0355
Suefuji, Masaki, Sylvia Cremer, Jan Oettler, and Jürgen Heinze. “Queen Number Influences the Timing of the Sexual Production in Colonies of Cardiocondyla Ants.” Biology Letters. Royal Society, The, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2008.0355.
M. Suefuji, S. Cremer, J. Oettler, and J. Heinze, “Queen number influences the timing of the sexual production in colonies of Cardiocondyla ants,” Biology Letters, vol. 4, no. 6. Royal Society, The, pp. 670–673, 2008.
Suefuji M, Cremer S, Oettler J, Heinze J. 2008. Queen number influences the timing of the sexual production in colonies of Cardiocondyla ants. Biology Letters. 4(6), 670–673.
Suefuji, Masaki, et al. “Queen Number Influences the Timing of the Sexual Production in Colonies of Cardiocondyla Ants.” Biology Letters, vol. 4, no. 6, Royal Society, The, 2008, pp. 670–73, doi:10.1098/rsbl.2008.0355.

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