Abstract
Social interactions amongRopalidia plebeiana females on a nest were observed in Brisbane, Australia. Although a single female (queen-like female) tended to remain on the nest most of the time, and received food most frequently from females which returned from foraging trips, no dominance/aggressive acts were directed by her to regular nestmates. When a possibly alien female tried to join the female group, however, the queen-like female attacked this female strongly. The frequency of these attacks gradually decreased and the newcomer was accepted as a regular member by the eighth day. The attacked female showed a special, possibly ritualized, posture and this seemed to have reduced the frequency of attacks.
Published Version
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