Lethal fighting among dimorphic males of the ant, Cardiocondyla wroughtonii

Stuart, Robin J.; Francoeur, André; Loiselle, R.

doi:10.1007/bf00367076

Cited by 69 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…In such situations, adult males of C. nuda usually ignored each other. In contrast, Kinomura and Yamauchi (1987) and Stuart et al (1987) reported deadly fighting between adult rivals in C. wroughtonii, which lasted for hours. During these fights, but also when attacking callows, males of C. wroughtonii used their forelegs to beat the opponent and to spread secretions from the gaster tip over his cuticle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…During these fights, but also when attacking callows, males of C. wroughtonii used their forelegs to beat the opponent and to spread secretions from the gaster tip over his cuticle. These secretions appeared to induce worker aggression (Stuart et al, 1987;Yamauchi and Kawase, 1992). Beating with the forelegs was never observed in C. nuda.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stuart et al (1987) suggested that different degrees of relatedness might underlie the observed variation in male-male compatibility. In C. wroughtonii, in addition to ergatoid males, winged males occur which are thought to disperse for mating in addition to intranidal mating (Kinomura and Yamauchi, 1987;Stuart et al, 1987). In contrast, in C. nuda, as well as in several other species (Kugler, 1983) winged males have never been found.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Inbreeding could affect male behaviors: Losses in direct fitness due to a lower number of potential mates might then be compensated by increased inclusive fitness. Fighting among adult males is highly risky for both opponents (Stuart et al, 1987), but to attack catlows is quite safe. In this sense it might always pay to attack even closely related, vulnerable male callows.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ergatoid males of Cardiocondyla wroughtonii have long, sabershaped mandibles which they use to kill eclosing males and to attack adult rivals. Nests typically contain only one or a few ergatoid males, which inseminate all eclosing queens (Stuart et al, 1987;Kinomura and Yamauchi, 1987). Fighting, leading to severe injuries and death, was observed also among ergatoid males of Hypoponera punctatissima (Hamilton, 1979).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Behavior of ergatoid males in the ant,Cardiocondyla nuda

Heınze¹,

Kühnholz²,

Schilder³

et al. 1993

Ins. Soc

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SummaryErgatoid males of the ant, Cardiocondyla nuda, attack and frequently kill young males during or shortly after eclosion. Smaller colonies therefore contain typically only one adult male, which may inseminate all alate queens which are reared in the colony over a few weeks. In larger colonies, several males may be present, however, fighting among adult males was not observed. We discuss the significance of male fighting behavior in ants.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Behavior of ergatoid males in the ant,Cardiocondyla nuda

Heınze¹,

Kühnholz²,

Schilder³

et al. 1993

Ins. Soc

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Methuselah’s daughters: Paternal age has little effect on offspring number and quality in Cardiocondyla ants

Heınze

Hanoeffner

Delabie

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Male age may directly or indirectly affect the fitness of their female mating partners and their joint progeny. While in some taxa of insects, old males make better mates and fathers, young males excel in others. Males of most social Hymenoptera are relatively short lived and because of testis degeneration have only a limited sperm supply. In contrast, the wingless fighter males of the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior live for several weeks and produce sperm throughout their lives. Wingless males engage in lethal combat with rival males and the winner of such fights can monopolize mating with all female sexuals that emerge in their nests over a prolonged timespan. Here, we investigate if male age has an influence on sperm quality, the queen's lifespan and productivity, and the size and weight of their offspring. Queens mated to one‐week or six‐week‐old males did not differ in life expectancy and offspring production, but the daughters of young males were slightly heavier than those of old males. Our data suggest negligible reproductive senescence of C. obscurior males even at an age, which only few of them reach. This matches the reproductive strategy of Cardiocondyla ants, in which freshly emerging female sexuals rarely have the option to mate with males other than the one present in their natal nest.

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Courtship with two spoons—Anatomy and presumed function of the bizarre antennae of Cardiocondyla zoserka ant males

Heınze

Marschall

Lautenschläger

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Traits associated with courtship and mating can evolve rapidly and often result in striking differences in sexually selected traits among closely related species, for example, as in the displays of male bowerbirds, the coloration of male cichlid fish, and the song pulse rate in field crickets (reviewed by Broder et al., 2021;Svensson & Gosden, 2007;Zuk & Tinghitella, 2008). The morphology of ant males appears to be much more conservative and on a first glance differs little between congeneric species (e.g., Wheeler, 1910). The morphology and behavior of ant males are adapted to locating and approaching a female sexual and to mating. The typical mating syndromes of ants, male aggregation and female calling, do not give males much opportunity for elaborate courtship displays or male-male antagonism other than scramble competition (Boomsma et al., 2005;Hölldobler & Bartz, 1985). Ant males cannot easily obtain and defend a harem of queens and, like the males of other social Hymenoptera, start their sexual life with

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Lethal fighting among dimorphic males of the ant, Cardiocondyla wroughtonii

Cited by 69 publications

References 2 publications

Behavior of ergatoid males in the ant,Cardiocondyla nuda

Behavior of ergatoid males in the ant,Cardiocondyla nuda

Methuselah’s daughters: Paternal age has little effect on offspring number and quality in Cardiocondyla ants

Courtship with two spoons—Anatomy and presumed function of the bizarre antennae of Cardiocondyla zoserka ant males

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