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Characterization of Nest Architecture of an Indian Ant Diacamma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

ABSTRACT: Nests are physical entities that give shelter to the inhabitants from natural adversities, predators and act as a platform for organization of tasks particularly in social insects. Social insect nests can range from simple structures consisting of a single entrance leading to a chamber to complex nests containing hundreds of connected shafts and chambers. This study characterizes nest architecture of a tropical ponerine ant Diacamma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), which has small colony sizes and is known to be a scavenger. We also examined if these nests vary seasonally. By examining the microhabitat in the vicinity of the nest, the nest entrance characteristics and casting 77 natural nests of D. indicum across a year, we found that this species occupies relatively simple nests consisting of a single entrance that leads to a single chamber. This chamber progressed to a secondary tunnel that terminated at a greater depth than the chamber. The nest volume was not correlated to the number of adult members in the colony. Even though the microhabitat around the nest and the entrance itself change across seasons, principle component analysis showed that the nest architecture remained similar. Only one parameter, the entrance tunnel showed significant difference and was longer during postmonsoon. Nests of colonies living in the immediate vicinity of human habitation were comparable to other nests. We conclude that D. indicum found in the Gangetic plains live in relatively simple nests that do not vary across seasons.

SUBMITTER: Bhattacharyya K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6874834 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Characterization of Nest Architecture of an Indian Ant Diacamma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Bhattacharyya Kushankur K Annagiri Sumana S

Journal of insect science (Online) 20191101 6

Nests are physical entities that give shelter to the inhabitants from natural adversities, predators and act as a platform for organization of tasks particularly in social insects. Social insect nests can range from simple structures consisting of a single entrance leading to a chamber to complex nests containing hundreds of connected shafts and chambers. This study characterizes nest architecture of a tropical ponerine ant Diacamma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), which has small colony sizes ...[more]

PMID: 31758794

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Project description:The paper integrates two independent studies of numeric morphology-based alpha-taxonomy of the cryptic ant species Temnothoraxcrassispinus (Karavajev, 1926) and Temnothoraxcrasecundus sp. n. conducted by different investigators, using different equipment, considering different character combinations and evaluating different samples. Samples investigated included 603 individual workers from 203 nests - thereof 104 nest samples measured by Seifert and 99 by Csösz. The material originated from Europe, Asia Minor and Caucasia. There was a very strong interspecific overlap in any of the 29 shape characters recorded and subjective expert determination failed in many cases. Primary classification hypotheses were formed by the exploratory data analysis Nest Centroid (NC) clustering and corrected to final species hypotheses by an iterative linear discriminant analysis algorithm. The evaluation of Seifert's and Csösz's data sets arrived at fully congruent conclusions. NC-Ward and NC-K-means clustering disagreed from the final species hypothesis in only 1.9 and 1.9% of the samples in Seifert's data set and by 1.1 and 2.1% in Csösz's data set which is a strong argument for heterospecificity. The type series of Temnothoraxcrassispinus and Temnothoraxcrasecundus sp. n. were allocated to different clusters with p = 0.9851 and p = 0.9912 respectively. The type series of the junior synonym Temnothoraxslavonicus (Seifert, 1995) was allocated to the Temnothoraxcrassispinus cluster with p = 0.9927. Temnothoraxcrasecundus sp. n. and Temnothoraxcrassispinus are parapatric species with a long contact zone stretching from the Peloponnisos peninsula across Bulgaria northeast to the southern Ukraine. There is no indication for occurrence of interspecifically mixed nests or intraspecific polymorphism. However, a significant reduction of interspecific morphological distance at sites with syntopic occurrence of both species indicates local hybridization. The results are discussed within the context of the Pragmatic Species Concept of Seifert (2014). The taxonomic description and a differential diagnosis of Temnothoraxcrasecundus sp. n. are given.

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Dataset Information

Characterization of Nest Architecture of an Indian Ant Diacamma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Publications

Characterization of Nest Architecture of an Indian Ant Diacamma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

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