Abstract
Workers in many species of social insects are capable of laying unfertilized eggs, which can develop into haploid males. This causes a conflict about male parentage between queens and workers. In a few species, this may result in matricide, that is, workers kill the colony's queen. Queen killing has so far been observed mainly in multi‐queen colonies or in annual species, when the queen's fecundity declines at the end of the reproductive period. Here, we report queen expulsion and matricide in a monogynous, monandrous ant with perennial societies. Workers were seen to aggressively expel both related and unrelated queens from their nest shortly after the end of hibernation. Queen expulsion and matricide led to a significant decrease in the number of workers and brood, but eventually increased the direct fitness of workers through significant male production. Long‐term observations revealed a short lifespan of queens, while workers in orphaned colonies survived and produced male offspring over several years.
Highlights
The societies of social insects are often seen as harmonious, well-organized units, in which all individuals cooperate smoothly to increase the reproductive output of the group as a whole
Queens of monogynous ants may live for several years (Keller, 1998; Keller & Genoud, 1997; Plateaux, 1971), and it is not expected that workers kill the only individual in the nest that is capable of producing female offspring
Queen killing in societies of perennial social insects has so far been reported only from polygynous ants and stingless bees, where surplus young queens are eliminated (Balas, 2005; Inoue et al, 2015; Keller et al, 1989; Wenseleers et al, 2004), when new colonies of monogynous species are cooperatively initiated by Ecology and Evolution. 2021;11:1843–1849.
Summary
The societies of social insects are often seen as harmonious, well-organized units, in which all individuals cooperate smoothly to increase the reproductive output of the group as a whole. Workers eliminate or attack their own queen and begin to lay eggs in its place Such matricide has been observed in the annual societies of bumblebees and wasps when the queen's fecundity declines in late summer (Almond et al, 2019; Bourke, 1994; Loope, 2015, 2016; Strassmann et al, 2003). Queen killing in societies of perennial social insects has so far been reported only from polygynous ants and stingless bees, where surplus young queens are eliminated (Balas, 2005; Inoue et al, 2015; Keller et al, 1989; Wenseleers et al, 2004), when new colonies of monogynous species are cooperatively initiated by. About half of these orphaned colonies survived until the fourth year after collection and during this time produced large numbers of male offspring
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