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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Induction and Evaluation of Inbreeding Crosses Using the Ant, Vollenhovia Emeryi
06:44

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Published on: October 5, 2018

Workers influence royal reproduction.

Richard J Gill1, Robert L Hammond

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX, UK.

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|November 5, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

In social insects, workers can influence reproduction in multiple-queen (MQ) colonies. This study shows workers in Leptothorax acervorum ants actively regulate which queen reproduces, impacting relatedness and fitness.

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Published on: October 13, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Social Insect Behavior

Background:

  • Reproductive regulation is key to understanding conflict resolution in animal societies.
  • In social insects, workers can influence male production and sex ratios.
  • Worker influence over queen reproduction (skew) in multiple-queen (MQ) colonies is understudied, despite its impact on worker fitness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate worker influence over reproductive skew in the ant Leptothorax acervorum.
  • To determine if worker behavior predicts which queen monopolizes reproduction in MQ colonies.
  • To understand the role of relatedness cues in worker reproductive decisions.

Main Methods:

  • Observations of MQ colonies before egg-laying, focusing on worker-queen interactions.
  • Analysis of worker aggressive and non-aggressive behaviors towards queens.
  • Parentage analysis to determine offspring relatedness and worker biases.

Main Results:

  • Worker behavior, not queen interactions, predicted which queen reproduced.
  • Workers favored their own mothers, promoting rearing of full-sibs (r=0.5) over less related offspring (r≤0.375).
  • Worker bias occurred even without a mother queen, suggesting non-relatedness cues are also used.

Conclusions:

  • Workers in L. acervorum possess the power and information to influence reproductive skew.
  • Worker control over reproduction impacts colony structure and worker fitness.
  • Reproductive conflict outcomes vary within species, highlighting the plasticity of social behavior.