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Queens control caste allocation in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior.

ABSTRACT: Social insect queens and workers can engage in conflict over reproductive allocation when they have different fitness optima. Here, we show that queens have control over queen-worker caste allocation in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior, a species in which workers lack reproductive organs. We describe crystalline deposits that distinguish castes from the egg stage onwards, providing the first report of a discrete trait that can be used to identify ant caste throughout pre-imaginal development. The comparison of queen and worker-destined eggs and larvae revealed size and weight differences in late development, but no discernible differences in traits that may be used in social interactions, including hair morphology and cuticular odours. In line with a lack of caste-specific traits, adult workers treated developing queens and workers indiscriminately. Together with previous studies demonstrating queen control over sex allocation, these results show that queens control reproductive allocation in C. obscurior and suggest that the fitness interests of colony members are aligned to optimize resource allocation in this ant.

SUBMITTER: Schultner E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9904955 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Queens control caste allocation in the ant <i>Cardiocondyla obscurior</i>.

Schultner Eva E Wallner Tobias T Dofka Benjamin B Brülhart Jeanne J Heinze Jürgen J Freitak Dalial D Pokorny Tamara T Oettler Jan J

Proceedings. Biological sciences 20230208 1992

Social insect queens and workers can engage in conflict over reproductive allocation when they have different fitness optima. Here, we show that queens have control over queen-worker caste allocation in the ant <i>Cardiocondyla obscurior</i>, a species in which workers lack reproductive organs. We describe crystalline deposits that distinguish castes from the egg stage onwards, providing the first report of a discrete trait that can be used to identify ant caste throughout pre-imaginal developme ...[more]

PMID: 36750190

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Project description:BackgroundThe intense interactions among closely related individuals in animal societies provide perfect conditions for the spread of pathogens. Social insects have therefore evolved counter-measures on the cellular, individual, and social level to reduce the infection risk. One striking example is altruistic self-removal, i.e., lethally infected workers leave the nest and die in isolation to prevent the spread of a contagious disease to their nestmates. Because reproductive queens and egg-laying workers behave less altruistically than non-laying workers, e.g., when it comes to colony defense, we wondered whether moribund egg-layers would show the same self-removal as non-reproductive workers. Furthermore, we investigated how a lethal infection affects reproduction and studied if queens and egg-laying workers intensify their reproductive efforts when their residual reproductive value decreases ("terminal investment").ResultsWe treated queens, egg-laying workers from queenless colonies, and non-laying workers from queenright colonies of the monogynous (single-queened) ant Temnothorax crassispinus either with a control solution or a solution containing spores of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum. Lethally infected workers left the nest and died away from it, regardless of their reproductive status. In contrast, infected queens never left the nest and were removed by workers only after they had died. The reproductive investment of queens strongly decreased after the treatment with both, the control solution and the Metarhizium brunneum suspension. The egg laying rate in queenless colonies was initially reduced in infected colonies but not in control colonies. Egg number increased again with decreasing number of infected workers.ConclusionsQueens and workers of the ant Temnothorax crassispinus differ in their reaction to an infection risk and a reduced life expectancy. Workers isolate themselves to prevent contagion inside the colony, whereas queens stay in the nest. We did not find terminal investment; instead it appeared that egg-layers completely shut down egg production in response to the lethal infection. Workers in queenless colonies resumed reproduction only after all infected individuals had died, probably again to minimize the risk of infecting the offspring.

Dataset Information

Queens control caste allocation in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior.

Publications

Queens control caste allocation in the ant <i>Cardiocondyla obscurior</i>.

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