The effects of pleometrosis, abiotic habitat, and intraspecific competition on emergence and lifespan of incipient Messor pergandei colonies were investigated in 2001. Field experiments conducted in the Sonoran desert of central Arizona indicate that colonies initiated by multiple foundresses are more likely to emerge. Pleometrotic colonies also won most brood raiding events versus haplometrotic colonies.
Back to Student Competition Ten-Minute Papers, Subsection Cb. Apiculture and Social Insects, Cc. Insect Vectors in Relation to Plant Disease
Back to Student Competition 10-minute Paper
Back to The 2002 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition