Abstract
Colony composition of Myrmecina sp. A, which has a specialized myrmecophilous oribatid mite Aribates javensis Aoki, Takaku, & Ito, was studied in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. The colonies had no alate or dealate queens. Alternatively, an average of 8 ergatoid queens, who were easily distinguished from workers in width and length of the 4th abdominal tergaite, mated and laid eggs. Males were frequently produced in many colonies, but, production of ergatoid queens was observed in only 2 of 24 colonies in the field. Expulsion of some old ergatoid queens by workers was observed after emergence of new ergatoid queens in one colony. Experimental evidence confirmed the presence of queens had the negative effect on production of new ergatoid queens.
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