Lifespan in male ants linked to mating syndrome

Abstract

Male ants have long been thought to leave the nest, swarm, mate and die in quick succession (male aggregation syndrome). However, the ancestors of the ants likely used female calling, where females advertise with pheromones for longer lived and presumably free living males. In this study, male lifespan was compared in four species from a Panama rain forest. Males of two species with aggregation syndrome (Atta colombica and Azteca sp.) lived only days after collection at a light trap, and their lifespan failed to increase when supplied sugar water ad libitum. In contrast, two species with female calling syndrome (Ectatomma ruidum and Paraponera clavata) lived up to 116 days when fed. These results link male lifespan to mating systems, and provide a framework to examine variation in how ant colonies invest in males.