Summary
The colony structure of the bamboo-inhabiting SE-Asian pseudomyrmecine antTetraponera sp. PSW-80 nearattenuata F. Smith was investigated at the Ulu Gombak Field Studies Centre, Selangor, West-Malaysia. Based on the dissection of 54 stem internodes from 12 different culms of the large bambooGigantochloa scortechinii Gamble and on the mapping of three colonies, the following demographic characteristics emerge. The colonies are monogynous but highly polydomous (at least up to 36 internodes and up to 9 stems occupied) and very populous for a pseudomyrmecine not involved in an ant-plant mutualism. One completely censused colony had 6953 adult workers and 2079 alates (adults plus pupae). The single queen suppresses gyne development in her own “nest” and, to a lesser extent, in other “nests” within the same stem. The overall numerical sex ratio was 0.96∶1 (females:males), the investment sex ratio, 2.93∶1, i.e., almost exactly the 3∶1 ratio expected for a monogynous outbred hymenopteran in which the colony queen also produces all the male offspring. Brood is distributed to all other nest chambers from the queenright chamber. The symbiotic pseudococcids (Kermicus wroughtoni Newstead) are present in all inhabited internodes, with small early instar individuals prevailing numerically by far over the larger stages. The rieht well secluded honeydew supply within the internode and the efficient architectural protection provided by the internode wall (access usually only through a 2 × 3 mm-hole) allowT. sp. PSW-80 to reach an unusually large colony size without being an aggressive and protective plant mutualist like other members of its subfamily with similar demographic features.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Brian, M. V., 1980. Social control over sex and caste in bees, wasps and ants.Biol. Rev. 55:379–415.
Creighton, W. S., 1950. The ants of North America.Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 104:1–585.
Creighton, W. S., 1955. Observations onPseudomyrma elongata Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).J. New York Entomol. Soc. 63:17–20.
Dorow, W. H. O. and U. Maschwitz, 1990. Thearachne-group ofPolyrhachis (Formicidae, Formicinae): Weaver ants cultivating Homoptera on bamboo.Ins. Soc. 37:73–89.
Hasagawa, E., 1992. Annual life cycle and timing of male egg production in the antColobopsis nipponicus Wheeler.Ins. Soc. 39:439–446.
Janzen, D. H., 1966. Coevolution of mutualism between ants and acacias in Central America.Evolution 20:249–275.
Janzen, D. H., 1967. Interactions of the bull's-horn acacia (Acacia cornigera L.) with an ant inhabitant (Pseudomyrmex ferruginea F. Smith) in eastern Mexico.Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 47:315–558.
Janzen, D. H., 1972. Protection ofBarteria (Passifloraceae) byPachysima ants (Pseudomyrmecinae) in a Nigerian rain forest.Ecology 53:885–892.
Janzen, D. H., 1973. Evolution of polygynous obligate acacia-ants in western Mexico.J. Anim. Ecol. 42:727–750.
Janzen, D. H., 1975.Pseudomyrmex nigropilosa: a parasite of mutualism.Science 188:936–937.
Klein, R. W., 1987a. Colony structures of three species ofPseudomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Pseudomyrmecinae) in Florida. In:Chemistry and Biology of Social Insects (J. Eder and H. Rembold, Eds.), Peperny, München, pp. 107–108.
Klein, R. W., 1987b. A workerless inquiline inPseudomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae; Pseudomyrmecinae) in Florida. In:Chemistry and Biology of Social Insects (J. Eder and H. Rembold, Eds.), Peperny, München, pp. 623–624.
Klein, R. W., 1990. Untersuchungen zum Nahrungserweb vonPseudomyrmex undTetraponera (Formicidae: Pseudomyrmecinae), unter besonderer Berücksichtigung des Spur- und Orientierungsverhaltens.Diplom-thesis, University of Frankfurt.
Klein, R. W., D. Kovac, A. Schellerich and U. Maschwitz, 1992. Mealybug-carrying by swarming queens of a Southeast Asian bamboo-inhabiting ant.Naturwissenschaften 79:422–423.
Klein, R. W., U. Maschwitz and D. Kovac, 1993. Flood control in ants: a Southeast Asian bamboo-dwellingTetraponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Pseudomyrmecinae) bails water from its internode-nests.Ins. Soc. 40: in press.
Newstead, R., 1897. Observations on Coccidae (No. 16).Entomol. Mon. Mag. 33:165–171.
Schremmer, F., 1984. Untersuchungen und Beobachtungen zur Ökoethologie der PflanzenameisePseudomyrmex triplarinus, welche die Ameisenbäume der GattungTriplaris bewohnt.Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Ökolog. Geogr. Tiere 111:385–410.
Snyder, L. E. and J. M. Herbers, 1991. Polydomy and sexual allocation ratios in the antMyrmica punctiventris.Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 28:409–415.
Terron, G., 1968. Composition des colonies deTetraponera anthracina Santschi (Hym., Form., Prom.).Ann Fac. Sci. Cameroun 1:89–100.
Terron, G., 1969. Mise en evidence du parasitisme temporaire deTetraponera anthracina Santschi parTetraponera ledouxi nov. spec. (Hym., Form., Prom.).Ann. Fac. Sci. Cameroun 3:113–115.
Terron, G., 1970. Recherches morphologiques et biologiques surTetraponera anthracina Santschi et sur son parasite social temporaireTetraponera ledouxi Terron (Hym. — Formicidae — Promyrmicinae).Doctoral dissertation, University of Toulouse.
Terron, G., 1977. Evolution des colonies deTetraponera anthracina Santschi (Formicidae Pseudomyrmecinae) avec reines.Bull. Biol. France Belgique 111:115–181.
Trivers, R. L. and H. Hare, 1976. Haplodiploidy and the evolution of the social insects.Science 191:249–263.
VanPelt, A. F., Jr., 1958. The ecology of the ants of the Welaka Reserve, Florida. II. Annotated list.Amer. Midland Naturalist 59:1–57.
Ward, P. S., 1985. The nearctic species of the genusPseudomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).Quaest. Entomol. 21:209–246.
Ward, P. S., 1991. Phylogenetic analysis of pseudomyrmecine ants associated with domatia-bearing plants. In:Ant-Plant Interactions (C. R. Huxley and D. F. Cutler, Eds.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 335–352.
Way, M. J., 1954. Studies of the life history and ecology of the antOecophylla longinoda Latreille.Bull. Entomol. Res. 45:93–112.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Buschinger, A., Klein, R.W. & Maschwitz, U. Colony structure of a bamboo-dwellingTetraponera sp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Pseudomyrmecinae) from Malaysia. Ins. Soc 41, 29–41 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01240571
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01240571