Abstract
We examined the effect of facultative sex allocation by workers on queen fitness in a Furnish population of the ant Formica truncorum. Workers rear female-biased broods in colonies headed by a singly mated queen and male-biased broods in colonies headed by a multiply mated queen. As a result, multiply mated queens have a 37% fitness advantage over singly mated queens. Neither reproductive output nor worker population of colonies varied with queen mating frequency. We suggest that singly mated queens persist in the population because fitness benefits to multiply mated queens via sex allocation are balanced by costs of additional matings. Alternatively, singly mated queens may persist simply because some queens lack opportunities to mate multiply or because male control sometimes prevents additional matings by queens.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.