Task allocation related to fat content in the queenless ant, <i>Dinoponera australis</i> (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Sunday, December 13, 2009: 3:21 PM

Room 211, Second Floor (Convention Center)

Chris R. Smith , Department of Biology, Earlham College, Richmond, IN

Andrew V. Suarez , Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL

Neil Tsutsui , Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management (ESPM), University of California, Berkeley, CA

Sarah Wittman , University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

Benjamin Edmonds , Department of Biology, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR

Alex Freauff , Department of Biology, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR

Chadwick Tillberg , Department of Biology, Linfield College, McMinnville, OR

How social insects allocate behavioral tasks among individuals of a colony is an open question. In many cases, morphological, physiological, or genetic differences among individuals can result in differences in behavioral repertoires. However, for monomorphic species in which many or all individuals are reproductively competent, the mechanisms behind behavioral differences among individuals are less understood. We investigated the relationship between behavior and fat content in the queenless ant Dinoponera australis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Our results suggest that individual behavior patterns are related to nutritional status.

doi: 10.1603/ICE.2016.44283

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0170 Task allocation related to fat content in the queenless ant, Dinoponera australis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)