English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Free Plan

We studied the nest distribution pattern, the inter-nest relationship, and egg-laying ability of workers in the Indonesian myrmicine ant Myrmecina sp. A. This rare species has recently attracted biologists” attention by their peculiar symbiosis with a mite. The ant was locally quite dominant and occupied about 80% of the ant nests within a 10 × 10m-study plot on the floor of the secondary forest in the Botanical Garden of Bogor. We conclude that the local population of M. sp. A consisted of an unicolonial colony, because of the following three reasons: (1) they were usually tolerant to conspecific non-nestmates while showing strong aggression to the different species Tetramorium sp., (2) nests were contiguously rather than uniformly distributed, and (3) a mark-recapture experiment revealed that conspecific non-nestmates were easily incorporated into alien nests. This study reports the first discovery of unicoloniality in an ant species whose female reproductives are obligatory wingless ergatoid queens. Also unicoloniality in a forest dwelling ant in the tropics is unique. Workers can lay male destined eggs but they seem to lay only trophic eggs in the presence of the queen. We presented a hypothesis on the evolution of unicoloniality in this and other ant species with regard to the possible effects of genetic, ecological and historical factors. A population bottleneck following the introduction to a new habitat, policing and domination in the local habitat seem responsible for the evolution and maintenance of the unicoloniality.

Inter-nest Relationship in the Indonesian Ant, Myrmecina sp. A with some Considerations for the Evolution of Unicoloniality in Ants.