Behavioral and morphological traits influencing variation in task performance of Camponotus vagus ants

Abstract

The colony performance of social insects is supported by an efficient allocation of tasks among workers in the colony. The division of labor among ant workers is linked to age and caste polyethism, however, only a few studies have shown the relationship between workers’ behavioral variation and task performance. In this study, we investigated the task syndrome by testing the relationship between behavioral traits with task performance and location switching (switching the performance of tasks from inside to outside the nest) in the same-age workers of Camponotus vagus ants. We also investigated the division of labor in workers with and without location switching by checking if each caste is characterized by specific behavioral traits or tasks. Moreover, we checked whether the difference in the worker’s body size and its lifespan can influence task performance. Our results support the existence of task syndrome in ant workers by showing how individuals with specific behavioral traits are more likely to perform specific tasks within the colony. Moreover, the time of location switching was correlated with the tasks performed by the workers (brood care, selfgrooming and walking) and their behavioral traits (aggressiveness and total distance). In addition, worker size and lifespan are shown to influence task performance by the workers. Altogether, our study underpins the relationship between the behavioral traits and the task allocation and performance of workers within an ant colony.