Social facilitation of eclosion in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

In colonies of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, eclosion is facilitated by adult workers which strip away and consume the pupal cuticle. This stage-specific social interaction involves chemical stimuli which are present at the onset of eclosion, concurrent with the initiation of gross movements and separation of the pupal cuticle. Fire ant workers retrieved inanimate objects treated with an extract of eclosing pupae and placed them in the colony brood chamber with the appropriate age group where they were tended by several workers. The facilitation of eclosion by adult colony members appears to be an obligatory process in the development of this species; pupae denied the aid of adult workers during eclosion are unable to remove the pupal cuticle and rapidly succumb.