Abstract
In many social taxa, reproductively dominant individuals sometimes use aggression to secure and maintain reproductive status. In the social insects, queen aggression towards subordinate individuals or workers has been documented and is predicted to occur only in species with a small colony size and a low level of queen–worker dimorphism. We report queen aggression towards reproductive workers in the ant species Aphaenogaster cockerelli, a species with a relatively large colony size and a high level of reproductive dimorphism. Through analysis of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, we show that queens are aggressive only to reproductively active workers. Non-reproductive workers treated with a hydrocarbon typical for reproductives are attacked by workers but not by queens, which suggests different ways of recognition. We provide possible explanations of why queen aggression is observed in this species.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Bourke AFG (1988) Dominance orders, worker reproduction, and queen-worker conflict in the slave-making ant Harpagoxenus sublaevis. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 23:323–333
Bourke AFG (1999) Colony size, social complexity and reproductive conflict in social insects. J Evol Biol 12:245–257
Gobin B, Billen J, Peeters C (2001) Dominance interactions regulate worker mating in the polygynous ponerine ant Gnamptogenys menadensis. Ethology 107:495–508
Heinze J, Smith TA (1990) Dominance and fertility in a functionally monogynous ant. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 27:1–10
Heinze J, Hölldobler B, Alpert G (1999) Reproductive conflict and division of labor in Eutetramorium mocquerysi, a myrmicine ant without morphologically distinct female reproductives. Ethology 105:701–717
Hölldobler B, Carlin N (1989) Colony founding, queen control and worker reproduction in the ant Aphaenogaster (=Novomessor) cockerelli (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 96:131–151
Hölldobler B, Wilson EO (2009) The superorganism: the beauty, elegance, and strangeness of insect societies. W. W. Norton, New York
Liebig J (2010) Hydrocarbon profiles indicate fertility and dominance status in ant, bee, and wasp colonies. In: Blomquist GJ, Bagnères AG (eds) Insect hydrocarbons: biology, biochemistry, and chemical ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 254–281
Monnin T, Peeters C (1999) Dominance hierarchy and reproductive conflicts among subordinates in a monogynous queenless ant. Behav Ecol 10:323–332
Nakata K, Tsuji K (1996) The effect of colony size on conflict over male-production between gamergate and dominant workers in the ponerine ant Diacamma sp. Ethol Ecol Evol 8:147–156
Oliveira PS, Hölldobler B (1991) Agonistic interactions and reproductive dominance in Pachycondyla obscuricornis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 98:215–226
Ortius D, Heinze J (1999) Fertility signaling in queens of a North American ant. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 45:151–159
Peeters C, Higashi S (1989) Reproductive dominance controlled by mutilation in the queenless ant Diacamma australe. Naturwissenschaften 76:177–180
Peeters C, Hölldobler B (1995) Reproductive cooperation between queens and their mated workers: the complex life history of an ant with a valuable nest. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:10977–10979
Reeve HK (1992) Queen activation of lazy workers in colonies of the eusocial naked mole-rat. Nature 358:147–149
Smith AA, Hölldobler B, Liebig J (2008) Hydrocarbon signals explain the pattern of worker and egg policing in the ant Aphaenogaster cockerelli. J Chem Ecol 34:1275–1282
Smith AA, Hölldobler B, Liebig J (2009) Cuticular hydrocarbons reliably identify cheaters and allow enforcement of altruism in a social insect. Curr Biol 19:78–81
Sommer K, Hölldobler B (1992) Coexistence and dominance among queens and mated workers in the ant Pachycondyla tridentata. Naturwissenschaften 79:470–472
Young AJ, Carlson AA, Monfort SL, Russell AF, Bennett NC, Clutton-Brock T (2006) Stress and the suppression of subordinate reproduction in cooperatively breeding meerkats. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 103:12005–12010
Acknowledgments
We thank Tanja Bloss, Adam Dolezal, James Garcia, Kevin Haight, Dani Moore, Navdeep Mutti, and Clint Penick for their assistance and three anonymous referees for helpful comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, A.A., Hölldobler, B. & Liebig, J. Reclaiming the crown: queen to worker conflict over reproduction in Aphaenogaster cockerelli . Naturwissenschaften 98, 237–240 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-011-0761-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-011-0761-8