Thomas M. Alloway, Alfred Buschinger, Mary Talbot, Robin Stuart, and Cynthia Thomas.
Polygyny and Polydomy in Three North American Species of the Ant Genus Leptothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
Psyche 89(3-4):249-274, 1982.

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POLYGYNY AND POLYDOMY IN THREE NORTH
AMERICAN SPECIES OF THE ANT GENUS
LEPTOTHORAX MAYR (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE)' This paper deals with certain behavioral and ecological factors which may be relevant to the evolution and maintenance of social parasitism in ants. We will argue that some of the same factors which might predispose one species to evolve into a social parasite might make resistance to parasitism difficult for a closely related species,
After their mating flight, the queens of most nonparasitic ant species found new colonies alone, A queen of such a species finds a suitable nesting place, excavates a small cavity, and seals herself inside. She then lays a clutch of eggs and feeds her first larvae a special "baby food" derived metabolically from the degeneration of her wing muscles and fat body. These larvae mature to become female workers which forage for food, enlarge the nest, feed the queen, and rear subsequent broods of workers and reproductives. Mature ant colonies usually occupy only one nest (monodomy). However, the number of queens in typical mature colonies varies. Colonies of some species never contain more than one functional queen (monogyny), while colonies of other species often have multi- ple queens (polygyny) (Buschinger 1974). However, the queens of all known obligatory slave-making, in- quiline, and temporary-parasite species found colonies non-inde- 1. This research was supported by grants to Thomas Alloway from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and to Alfred Buschinger from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. 2. Erindale College, University of Toronto, Mississauga, Ontario, CANADA L5L 1C6.
3. Fachbereich Biologic, Institut fur Zoologic, Technische Hochschule, 61 Darm- stadt, Schnittspahnstr. 3, Federal Republic of Germany. 4. The Lindenwood Colleges, Saint Charles Missouri, U.S.A. 63301. Manuscript received by the editor August 5, 1982.



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250 Psyche [vo~. 89
pendently. The parasite queen finds a colony of her host species, enters it, and somehow usurps the role of a host-species queen. The host-species workers then raise the parasite queen's brood. Species of temporary parasites possess a completely functional worker caste. At first, the temporary-parasite workers and the host- species workers exist alongside one another. However, when the host-species workers die, they are not replaced; and a pure colony of the temporary-parasite species develops. The workers of slave- making parasites are highly specialized for fighting and raiding the nests of host-species colonies; and as a consequence of their raids during which they capture host-species worker pupae and larvae, a force of host-species workers (or "slaves") is maintained. Inquiline parasites either have no worker caste at all; or, if one is present, the workers seem to play no role in maintaining the colony. In some cases, a continuing supply of host-species workers is maintained by the host-species queen's coexisting with the inquiline queen (Busch- inger, 1970; Wilson, 1971).
This paper presents data concerning several aspects of the behav- ioral biology of three North American species of the ant genus Leptothorax Mayr: L. ambiguus Emery, L. curvispinosus Mayr, and L. longispinosus Roger. These species interested us because they are hosts to three closely related parasite species. All three species are enslaved by the obligatory slave-makers L. duloticus Wesson and Harpagoxenus americanus (Emery); and L. curvispino- sus is the host of the workerless inquiline species L. minutissimus M. R. Smith (Alloway, 1979; Creighton, 1950). Thus, studies of the behavior and ecology of these three nonparasitic species may eluci- date the ethological and ecological circumstances under which social parasitism evolves and is maintained. Headley (1943) and Talbot (1957) reported that the number of queens in nests of L. curvispinosus and L. longispinosus is quite variable. Some nests contain several dealate queens, some contain one, and some contain none at all. Observations indicated that the number of queens in nests of L. ambiguus is also variable (Alloway, unpublished data). In addition, we found that many queenless nests of all three species contained broods which either included worker and queen pupae at the time of collection or matured into worker and queen (as well as male) pupae.




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19821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 251 These observations raised a number of hypotheses. Nests contain- ing more than one dealate queen suggested that some colonies of L. arnbiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus are polygynous. The production of female pupae in queenless nests raised at least three possibilities which are not mutually exclusive. First, a queen- less nest might be part of a polydomous colony with the female pupae being the progeny of one or more queens located in another nest at the time of collection. Second, these species might possess numerous ergatomorphic reproductives, individuals which resemble workers morphologically but which have a spermatheca, can be inseminated, and are capable of laying fertilized female eggs (Busch- inger 1975, 1978). Third, a queenless nest might be the remnant of a colony whose queen had died.
Over a two-year period, nests of L. ambiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus were collected during late March, April, May and early June; and weekly collection of L. ambiguus and L. longi- spinosus were obtained throughout June, July, and August of one summer. We recorded the number of queens present in every nest. In nests containing pupae at the time of collection, the kind of pupae present (queen, worker, and/or male) was also noted. Finally, nests of all three species were collected during the early spring of one year and cultured in the laboratory to determine the sex and caste of the pupae which matured from larvae present in the nests at the time of collection.
Results
Table 1 contains data regarding the proportions of nests collected during the springs of two years which contained 0, 1, or more than 1 queen. About 115 of the nests contained more than one dealate queen; about 1 / 3 contained no queen; and the remainder contained 1 queen. Tables 2, 3, and 4 reveal that the proportion of queenless nests was similar across years and throughout the season. Table 2 presents the numbers and proportions of nests of all three species collected in the spring and containing pupae of various kinds. Table 3 presents similar data for nests of L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus collected throughout the summer. These tables reveal that many freshly collected queenless nests contained female (worker and queen) pupae. Table 4 presents data concerning the broods



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252 Psyche [VOI. 89
Table 1.
Number and Percent of Nests of L. ambiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus Containing 0, 1, or More Than 1 Queen Number of 1. 1. 1.
Queens ambiguus curvispinosus longispinosus Total 0 453 (29.7%)
177 (36.3%) 237 (37.0%) 867 (32.7%)
1 765 (50.3%)
228 (46.7%) 31 1 (48.6%) 1304 (49.2%)
More than 1
304 (20.1%)
83 (17.0%) 92 (14.4%) 479 (18.1%)
Total 1522 ( 100.0%) 488 ( 100.0%) 640 ( 100.0%) 2650 ( 100.0%) which matured from queenless and queenright nests of the three species collected in the early spring and then cultured in the labora- tory. Once again, many queenless nests produced female pupae. Discussion
First, we want to stress that variability in the number of queens in nests of L. curvispinosus and L. longispinosus, first noted by Head- ley (1943) and Talbot (1957), is not a local or transitory pheno- menon and note that the number of queens in nests of L. ambiguus is also quite variable. However, of far greater importance is the large proportion of queenless nests of all three species which produce female (as well as male) pupae. This fact raised questions about the possible existence of ergatomorphic reproductives and polydomy. To demonstrate that a species of ant is facultatively polygynous, one must show that two or more fertile inseminated females can coexist in nests. Headley (1943) and Talbot (1957) reported the occurrence of multiple queens in some nests of L. curvispinosus and L. longispinosus. However, these authors did not determine whether more than one queen was inseminated and egg-laying. Wilson
(1 974a, b) observed several multiple-queen nests of L. curvispinosus and reported that all the queens laid eggs. However, as we shall show, uninseminated queens and workers sometimes lay eggs. Thus, the question of the occurrence of polygyny involving fertile in- seminated queens remained open. In addition, the production of female pupae in many queenless nests of L. ambiguus, L. curvispino- sus, and L. longispinosus suggested, as one possibility, the hypothe- sis that these species might possess frequent ergatomorphic female reproductives.




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19821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 253 Table 2. Number and Percent of Queenright and Queenless Nests of L. ambiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinousus Containing Pupae and/ or Alate Reproductives of Various Types at the Time of Collection (1977-78) - -
Queenright Nests
Q and/or Q and/ or
Species 0 Only $ and 8 8 Only Total
L. ambiguus 180 (83.3%)
31 (14.4%)
5 (2.3%) 216 (100.0%)
L. curvispinosus
23 (53.5%)
19 (44.2%)
1 (2.3%) 43 (100.0%)
L. longispinosus
76 (66.1%)
33 (28.7%)
6 (5.2%) 1 15 (100.0%)
Total 279 (74.6%) 83 (22.2%) 12 (3.2%) 374 (100.0%) Queenless Nests
Q and/ or
Q and/ or
Species 0 Only $ and 8 8 Only Total
L. ambiguus
90 (80.4%)
16 (14.3%)
6 (5.4%) 112 (100.0%)
L. curvispinosus 19 (59.4%)
9 (28.1%)
4 (12.5%) 32 (100.0%)
L. longispinosus 35 (50.0%) 24 (34.3%)
11 (15.7%)
70 (100.0%)
Total 144 (67.3%) 49 (22.9%) 21 (9.8%) 214 (100.0%) Materials and Methods
To determine whether polygyny involving inseminated queens occurs in these species, we dissected all the queens present in sam- ples of nests containing more than one dealate queen. To determine whether ergatomorphic female reproductives occur frequently, we dissected all the "workers" from five queenless nests of each species which had produced female broods when cultured in the laboratory. For each queen or worker dissected, we noted the following characteristics:
the number of ovarioles.
the length of the ovaries. In young virgin queens, the ovaries are thin and about 314 the length of the queen's gaster. When a queen becomes fertile, her ovaries grow until they eventually become as long as her entire body. In old fertile queens, the folded and coiled ovarioles enlarge until they almost completely fill the gaster.
the presence or absence of any growing oocytes in the ovarioles. The ovarioles of sterile individuals contain no oocytes; and in hibernating fertile queens, the oocytes are transparent. As yolk is



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254 Psyche [VOI. 89
deposited in growing oocytes, they become opaque; and ripe eggs are white.
the presence or absence of corpora lutea in the bases of the ovarioles. These yellowish residues of nutritional cells remain in the ovaries when eggs have been laid.
the presence or absence of a full or empty spermatheca. Individ- uals with no spermatheca or an empty spermatheca are incap- able of laying fertilized eggs which develop into workers or queens. An empty spermatheca appears as a small, transparent bladder on the common oviduct. When full of sperm, the sperma- theca is white and superficially resembles a ripe egg in size and coloration.
Results:
Our dissections enabled us to distinguish several physiologically different kinds of queens. To simplify the presentation of data, we Table 3.
Number of Queenright and Queenless Nests of L. ambiguus and
L. longispinosus Collected during June, July, and August and the Composition of their Broods
L. ambiguus
Queenless nests Queenright nests
Type of Brood
Type of Brood
9, ?4? Q? g?
8 only Q and g and 8 8 only 9 and g and 8 June 0 5
0 0 28 0
July 0 11
17 1 3 7 7 1
August 2 9
8 2 3 2 77
L. longispinosus
Queenless nests Queenright nests
Type of Brood
Type of Brood
Q, ! 2 9 Q3 g7
8 only Q and g and 8 8 only Q and and 8
June 0 0
1 0 2 I
July 0 0
4 0 1 I2
August
0 0
I 0 0 3




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19821
Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas will employ a set of terms developed by Buschinger (1968) to de- scribe these individuals. These terms are defined as follows: A-queen: An inseminated, fully fertile queen. The ovaries are as long, or nearly as long, as the whole body. The ovarioles con- tain many developing oocytes; and conspicuous corpora lutea are present. The spermatheca is full of sperm. Such queens are normally more than a year old.
b-queen: An inseminated young queen. At the time of our study (in mid-summer), the ovaries were about half their eventual length and contained developing oocytes. Sometimes a small corpus luteum was visible in the base of one or two ovarioles. The
spermatheca was full. We believe that these females had mated the previous summer and were in the process of becoming fully fertile. After mating, newly inseminated queens have very short ovarioles with no developing oocytes. If a nest, before the mat- ing season, contains one or more A-queens and one or more b-queens with growing oocytes, we conclude that that nest represents a11 or part of a colony which adopted one or more newly mated queens the previous summer.
Table 4. Number and Percent of Queenright and Queenless Nests of L. umbiguus, L. curvispinosus and L. longispinosus Collected in the Spring of 1979 which Produced Broods of Various Compositions when Cultured in the Laboratory Species
L. ambiguus 68 (47.5%)
60 (42.0%)
15 (10.5%) 143 (100.0%)
L. curvispinosus
95 (65.5%)
49 (33.8%)
1 ( 0.7%) I45 (100.0%)
L. longispinosus
42 (56.0%)
22 (29.3%) 1 I (14.7%) 75 ( 100.0%)
Total
205 (56.5%)
131 (36.1%) 27 ( 7.4%)
363 (~00.0%)
Q and/or Q and/or
Species g only g and 8 8 only Total
L. ambiguus 37 (52.1%) 24 (33.8%)
I0 (14.1%)
71 (100.0%)
L. curvispinosus 35 (43.2%)
38 (46.9%)
8 ( 9.9%) 8 I ( 100.0%)
L. longispinosus
12 (38.7%)
I2 (38.7%)
7 (22.6%) 3 I (100.0%)
Total 84 (45.9%)
74 (40.4%) 25 ( 13.7%)
1 83 ( 100.0%)




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25 6 Psyche [vo~. 89
c-queen: An uninseminated, old, sterile female. The ovaries are short and contain no oocytes. The spermatheca, if present, is empty; but it may not be present. The wing muscles are degen- erate and have been replaced by fat body. (The term d-queen would denote a young dealate female which had not been inseminated. The reproductive organs resemble those of c- queens, but the wing muscles have not yet degenerated, We found no d-queens, probably because we performed our dissec- tions before the sexual brood had eclosed.) C-queen: An uninseminated, egg-laying female with ovarioles like those of an A-queen. Sometimes there is no spermatheca. In this paper, we report the occurrence of significant numbers of individuals of this type for the first time in Leptothoracine ants. However, they occur rather frequently in colonies of Formica polyctena Foerster (Ehrhardt 1970) and Monomorium pha- raonis (L.) (Petersen & Buschinger 1971). The origin of these females in nests of L. ambiguusl L. curvispinosusl and L. longi- spinosus is unclear. They may be old individuals which were once inseminated but whose supply of sperm has been ex- hausted. However, the existence of egg-layers with no sperma- theca indicates that insemination is not a necessary prerequisite for fertility. Recently U. Winter (personal communication) found that Harpagoxenus sublaevis males often transmit very little or no sperm during their first copulation. Thus, a queen which had mated only once with such a male might become fertile after receiving only the secretions of the males's acces- sory glands. Perhaps a similar mechanism accounts for the existence of C-queens in these species of Leptothorax. The results of the dissections of queens of each species and of workers will be presented separately.
I. Leptothorax ambiguus
A total of 88 dealate females from 30 multiple-queen colonies was dissected. Only about 112 the multiple-queen nests contained more than one A-queen and were thus "truly polygynous" (see Table 5). Three of these truly polygynous nests also contained one or two b-queens and were thus in the process of developing polygyny to a higher degree.




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19821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 257 Table 5.
Number and Type of Dealate Females in Multiple-Queen Colonies of Leptorhorax ambigus
Colony n Dealate
No. P? A-QQ b-QQ C-QQ C-QQ Remarks
Colonies No.
1-15 are truly
polygynous
Colonies No.
16-23 are
becoming
polygynous
Colony fragment?
+C-Q without
spermatheca
Colony fragment?
Total 88 43 16 7 22
Another 7 nests (No. 16-23 in Table 5) were in the process of becoming polygynous. They contained 1 A-queen and 1 or 2 b- queens. One nest (No. 23) contained 2 b-queens only and was thus also becoming polygynous, although it lacked an A-queen. A number of nests contained one or more C-queens. Most of these



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258 Psyche [vo~. 89
individuals were living with A-queens. Two C-queens without a spermatheca were found in this sample (in nests No. 24 and 25). 2, Leptothorax curvispinosus
A total of 64 dealate queens from a sample of 23 multiple-queen nests was dissected. As was the case for L. ambiguus, we found all four categories of dealate females in L, curvispinosus (see Table 6). However, approximately 314 of the curvispinosus nests (74%) con- tained multiple A-queens, as compared to only about 112 of the arnbiguus nests. In addition, all 7 of the multiple-queen curvispino- sus nests which had only 1 A-queen contained one or more b-queens and were thus becoming polygynous. The total number of C-queens was much lower in curvispinosus than in ambiguus. However, we found 3 C-queens with no spermatheca; and 2 of these were fully fertile.
3. Leptothorax longispinosus
A total of 79 queens from a sample of 26 multiple-queen nests was dissected. The proportion of nests containing more than one A-queen was 65%; and all but one of the other nests contained either one or more b-queens living with an A-queen or more than one b-queen without an A-queen (see Table 7). The only exception was nest No. 23 which contained 7 C-queens living with a single A- queen. One of these C-queens had no spermatheca. 4. The number of ovarioles in queens
Table 8 shows that queens of L. ambiguus usually have 6 ovari- oles (both ovaries combined). Six is the usual number of ovarioles for most European species of the subgenus Leptothorax sensu strict0 (=Myrafant M. R. Smith 1950) and for species of the subge- nus Mychothorax (=Leptothorax sensu M. R. Smith) (Buschinger, unpublished data). However, L. curvispinosus queens most commonly have 8 ovarioles; and L. longispinosus queens most com- monly have 7. Moreover, the number of ovarioles in L. longispino- sus queens is very variable; and the distribution of ovarioles in single specimens of this species can be quite asymmetrical, One queen with 10 ovarioles had 6 on the left side and 4 on the right; another with 11 ovarioles had 4 on the left and 7 on the right. There was no evidence that the number of ovarioles is correlated with a queen's function in a nest. The number of ovarioles often varied considerable among



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19821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 259 Table 6. Numbers and Type of Dealate Females in Multiple-Queen Colonies of Leptothorax curvispinosus
Colony n Dealate
No. QQ A-QQ b-QQ c-QQ C-QQ Remarks
Colony No.
1-16 truly
polygynous
+C-Qwithout
spermat heca
Colony No.
17-23
becoming polygynous
'c-Q without
spermatheca
+C-Q without
spermatheca
-
- --
Total 64 46 14 1 3
queens in single nests, especially in L. longispinosus. Moreover, b- and C-queens on average had no fewer ovarioles than A-queens. 5. Workers
All the queenless nests whose workers were dissected contained one or more egg-laying individuals (see Table 9). However, none of the fertile workers possessed a spermatheca. Thus, we presume that all their offspring are males. Workers invariably had only two ovari- oles (one per ovary); and these were never as long and never con- tained as many corpora lutea as the ovarioles of egg-laying A- and C-queens. Thus, the number of eggs produced by a fertile worker is probably much less than that produced by a queen.



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260 Psyche
[Vol. 89
Table 7. Numbers and Type of Dealate Females in Multiple-Queen Colonies of Leptothorax longispinosus
Colony n dealate
NO. QQ A-$Q b-$9 C-QQ
Remarks
Colonies No. 1-1 7 truly
polygynous
Colonies No. 18-22 and
No. 24-26 becoming
polygynous
7+
+ 1 C-9 without spermatheca
Total 79 50 22 7
Table 8. Ovariole Numbers in Queens of Leptothorax ambiguus, L. curvi- spinosus, and L. longispinosus
n. ovarioles 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11n$$
L. ambiguus 1 8 2 4 -
-
- 88 x = 5.99
s = 0.39




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I 9821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas Discussion:
These data establish two important points. First, polygyny involv- ing multiple inseminated queens occurs in some nests of L. am- biguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus; and polygynous nests imply the existence of polygynous colonies. Polygyny in these three members of the subgenus Leptothorax sensu strict0 as well as in L. schaumi and L. flavicornis (Buschinger, unpublished observa- tions) is somewhat surprising in that the majority of European members of the subgenus are strictly monogynous (Buschinger 1967). The form of polygyny exhibited by L. ambiguus, L. curvispi- nosus, and L. longispinosus is also interesting in that the frequent joint presence of A- and b-queens indicates that colonies of these species can adopt young conspecific queens. We will argue below that this tendency to adopt queens is important for understanding the evolutionary origins of parasitic colony foundation. Second, although our dissections of workers in queenless colonies which produced female pupae revealed that some workers lay eggs, our failure to find any workers with a spermatheca indicates that ergatomorphic reproductive females of the kind seen in the slave- maker Harpagoxenus sublaevis are at least not common in L. arn- biguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus. Polydomy
This latter finding suggested two possibilities which are not mutu- ally exclusive:
a. Some queenless nests of these species which produce broods containing female pupae may be parts of polydomous colonies. In such cases, the female pupae would be the progeny of queens located in other nests at the time of collection. b. Some queenless nests may represent declining colonies with no queen. The female pupae are the offspring of a dead queen. Materials and Methods
We collected groups of acorn nests which were very close together in nature and brought the nests back to the laboratory where the ants were established in artificial nests. We then arranged the artifi- cial nests in arenas to duplicate the spatial arrangement of the natur- al nests and observed the ensuing behavioral interactions. As controls, we tested the effect of placing nests from different parts of



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262 Psyche [vo~. 89
Table 9.
Numbers and Percent of Sterile and Fertile Workers in Queenless Nests of L. ambiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus Nest No.
1
2
3
4
5
Nest No.
1
2
3
4
5
Nest No.
1
2
3
4
5
Sterile Workers Fertile Workers
L. curvispinosus
Sterile Workers Fertile Workers
L. longispinosus
Sterile Workers Fertile Workers
Total
11
15
17
14
30
Total
14
2 5
2 1
2 3
2 1
Total
18
9
24
2 3
14
the same collection site much closer together than they had been found and of placing nests from different sites together. Two kinds of arenas were employed. One type consisted of a 1 m2 area on a table top. The other was a square plexiglass enclosure having an area of 2025 cm2 surrounded by plexiglass walls 6 cm high. The ants were confined to the arenas by a thick barrier of petroleum jelly. Colonies were fed an artificial ant diet (Bhatkar & Whitcomb 1970) three times a week; water was continuously availa- ble. The experimental room was kept on a 15-h light and 9-h dark photoperiod at a temperature of 22' C k lo C. Results
A total of 28 experiments involving 96 nests of L. ambiguus and 5 experiments involving 11 nests of L. longispinosus were performed.



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19821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 263 Certain pertinent facts about each experiment are contained in Table 10.
The most frequent result for nests which had been close together in nature was so-called "fusion". After a day or two, the ants from the different nests peacefully moved into one of the artificial nests and remained there indefinitely. We are not sure why fusion occurred so frequently in the laboratory. One factor may have been that our artificial nests are somewhat larger than the average acorn. In any case, these peaceful mergers suggest that the ants from adja- cent nests were members of the same colony and are thus compati- ble with the polydomy hypothesis.
Other experiments (e.g. L. ambiguus experiments 9, 10, and 23 and L. longispinosus experiment 5) supported the polydomy hy- pothesis more dramatically. The ants continued to occupy more than one nest among which they maintained a more or less contin- ual exchange of workers, brood, and queens. Thus, over a period of several days, a nest was sometimes polygynous, sometimes monog- ynous, and sometimes queenless. In other experiments, (e.g. L. ambiguus experiments 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,22,24), it appeared that we observed interactions between two polydomous colonies or between a polydomous and a monodomous colony. For example, in experi- ments 15 and 16, we had examples of four nests which had been found in two close pairs separated by a somewhat greater distance. The ants from each pair of nests quickly fused, but there was pro- longed fighting among the ants from the different pairs of nests. The results of the control experiments also supported the poly- domy hypothesis. Ants from nests not found close together in nature did not usually coexist peacefully. When nests from different parts of the same collection site or from different sites were placed near one another, the result was usually widespread and protracted fighting. However, we observed two exceptions to this rule. In L. ambiguus experiment 19, 3 nests which had been an average of 96 cm apart in nature were placed together in a 2025-cm2 arena. There was no fighting; and after 12 days, the ants from two queen- right nests which had been 1 18 cm apart in nature peacefully moved into one nest. Even more surprising was the fusion of ants in two queenright nests from different collection sites which we observed in L. ambiguus experiment 18. We cannot explain these anomalous results, although we speculate that these species have a limited



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Table 10.
Results of Polydomy Study
Experiments with I,. ambipw
Experiment Type of Number of Mean Distance Number Experiment Nests (cm) Result
Natural distance
Natural distance
Natural distance
Closer than normal
Different sites
Different sites
Different sites
Closer than normal
Natural distance
Natural distance
Natural distance
Natural distance
Natural distance
Natural distance
29
26
7
277 in nature
-
--
466 in nature
34
Fusion
Fusion
Fusion
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Fighting
Partial fusion much exchange of workers, broods, and queens
Partial fusion much exchange of workers, broods, and queens
Fusion
2 closest fuse, other coexists peacefully Four merge and attack fifth nest
3 from tight cluster merge, attack, and
destroy the fourth




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15 Natural distance
16 Natural distances
17 Natural distance
18 Different sites
19 Closer than nature
20 Natural distance
2 1 Natural distance
22 Natural distance
23 Natural distance
24 Natural distance
25 Natural distance
26 Natural distance
27 Natural distance
28 Natural distance
-
Two pairs of nests. Ants from both
^o
00
pairs merge; then the 2 united nests fight u N Same as 15
Fusion
No fighting, fusion after 23 days
Two merge after 12 days, third remains
&
^
unchanged. No fighting.
to
Fusion 5
Partial fusion much exchange of workers, s-
brood and queens.
5'
2
--!
Two merge, attack, and destroy the
third; then they partially occupy the
2
'enemy nest. FS
*-k
Frequent exchange of workers, brood,
and queens. No fusion.
A close pair of nests and one farther
?
away. The pair merge, attack and destroy 5
the third. So
Fighting among all 3 nests. No fusion.
9
a-
No fighting, but no exchange of workers, I
brood or queens. c-3
No fighting, but no exchange of workers, brood, or queens.
td
A little fighting at first. No exchange of 0^
<^
workers, brood, or queens.




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Table 10 (Continued)
Experiments with L. longispinosus
Experiment Type of Number of Mean Distance Number Experiment Nests (cm) Result
1 Natural plus one from
another site
2 Closer than normal
plus a nest from
another site introduced
after 3 days.
3 Natural distance
4 Natural distance
5 Natural distance
3 from outside
plus one
14 among three
from same site
55 in nature for
ants from same site
Ants from same-site nests fuse, then
attack and destroy the outsider. Colony
then partly occupies the "enemy" nest
with much exchange of workers, brood,
and queens.
Fighting until ants from one nest kill
off ants from the other. Nest from other site also eliminated.
Fusion followed by later re-occupation
of both nests with much exchange of
workers, brood, and queens.
Fusion
Eventual fusion after 9 days of much
exchange of workers, brood, and queens.




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19821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 267 number of possible "colony odors". Ants from colonies with differ- ent odors fight, but ants from colonies with sufficiently similar odors do not fight and may merge (for a discussion, see Holldobler and Wilson, 1977).
Finally, although some data indicate that polydomy occurs in L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus, other data indicate that monodomy also occurs. As already noted, many apparently polydomous colo- nies became monodomous in the laboratory. Similar fusions may occur in nature. In addition, several experiments suggested interac- tions either between a polydomous and a monodomous colony or between two or more monodomous colonies. There were several instances in which the ants from two or more nests merged and then attacked the ants from another single nest. These results suggest that the ants which merged had comprised a polydomous colony and that the ants which were attacked belonged to another colony. Finally, the results of L. ambiguus experiments 25 and 26 suggested interactions among three monodomous colonies; and those of
experiments 27 and 28 suggested interactions between two monod- omous colonies.
Discussion
The evolutionary significance of polydomy and the question of what proportion of the queenless nests producing broods containing female pupae can be accounted for by polydomy will be discussed below. Here we simply note that some of the queenless nests of L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus which produce broods containing female pupae are almost surely parts of larger polydomous colonies in which there happened to be no queen at the time of collection. In the absence of data, it would be premature to conclude that polyd- omy occurs in L. curvispinosus. However, queenless nests are corn- mon in L. curvispinosus; and this fact and the many other similarities between L. curvispinosus on the one hand and L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus on the other suggest that L. curvispinosus is also facultatively polydomous.
Colony Foundation
One sign of an incipient ant colony is a nest containing one or more queens, an immature brood, and no workers. Such apparently incipient colonies of L. ambiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longi-



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268 Psyche [vo~. 89
spinosus are not easy to find. Under oak and hickory trees where there have been abundant nut falls, most inhabited nuts are occu- pied by more mature colonies. However, over several years, we discovered several apparently incipient colonies of L. ambiguus and L. long is pinosus.
Materials and Methods
We searched for incipient colonies of L. ambiguus and L. longi- spinosus in late summer and early autumn. An incipient colony was defined as a nest containing one or more dealate queens with a brood, but no workers.
Results
A total of 15 apparently incipient nests was found, 8 of L. am- biguus and 7 of L. longispinosus. Table 11 lists the number of queens and the type of brood present when the nests were collected. We tried to culture incipient colonies in the laboratory. However, perhaps because the artificial nests lacked a source of moisture, we had little success. Although the queens (perhaps unnaturally) for- aged for food and water, their broods gradually languished and died. Only L. ambiguus nest 7 and L. longispinosus nest 5 produced workers in the laboratory.
Table 11 shows that the number of queens in apparently incipient nests of L. ambiguus ranged from 2 to 10; and the number of queens in apparently incipient nests of L. longispinosus ranged from 1 to 15. These data indicate that queens of L. longispinosus found new colonies on a facultatively polygynous basis. So far we have failed to find an instance of apparently monogynous colony foundation in L. ambiguus. However, it would be premature to conclude that polygy- nous colony foundation in L. ambiguus is obligatory. Since we were mainly interested in the behavior of colony- founding queens, we did not dissect the foundresses to determine their reproductive status. However, the presence of male pupae in L. ambiguus nests 4 and 8 suggests that one or more of the queens may have become fertile without insemination. Multiple colony foundresses showed no hostility toward one another. To the contrary, apparently "cooperative" acts were com- mon. All brood was kept in a single pile and seemed to be tended jointly. Mutual grooming was frequent; and queens often regurgi- tated to one another upon returning from foraging trips. Some groups of queens "took turns" foraging.




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19821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 269 Table 11. Apparently Incipient Colonies of L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus Incipient Colonies of L. ambiguus
Colony No. Number of QQ Brood When Collected eggs and larvae
eggs and larvae
eggs, larvae, pupae
eggs, larvae, pupae
larvae
eggs and larvae
eggs and larvae
eggs, larvae and pupae
Incipient Colonies of L. longispinosus
Colony No. Number of QQ Brood When Collected 1 I Nil
2 1 eggs, larvae, pupae
3 1 Nil
4 5
eggs and larvae
5 2 larvae
6 1 larvae
7 1 eggs, larvae, pupae
Discussion
These data indicate that colonies of L. longispinosus can be founded either by a single queen (haplometrosis) or by more than one queen (pleometrosis) and that colonies of L. ambiguus can be founded pleometrotically. These preliminary findings indicate that the colony-foundation behavior of L. ambiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus deserves more thorough investigation. Among the questions remaining to be answered are the following: a. Can pleometrosis in these species lead directly and smoothly to polygynous mature colonies; or is there an obligatory period of monogyny between a colony's pleometrotic beginnings and the later adoption of supernumerary queens (Holldobler & Wilson 1977)?
b. How closely related are multiple colony foundresses? Are they always sisters? If so, how do they get together to found a new colony?
c. Is foraging for food and water a laboratory artifact; or do colony-founding queens of these species normally forage?



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270 Psyche [vo~. 89
Finally, although we have no direct evidence, we suppose that many colonies of these species must originate when a queenright portion of a polydomous colony becomes permanently separated from the other parts, a process known as "budding". Incipient nests containing only queens and an immature brood seem too rare to account for all colony foundation in these species. We can now reconstruct the colony life histories of these species in some detail. New colonies of L. longispinosus can be established either by a single newly mated young queen (haplometrosis) or by two or more such individuals (pleometrosis). New colonies of L. ambiguus are established pleometrotically; and it seems likely that further research will establish that colonies of this species and of L. curvispinosus can be founded either pleometrotically or haplome- trotically. Young colonies of these species probably occupy only one nest (monodomy). However, as they grow, some colonies of L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus come to occupy two or more nests (polydomy) among which there can be an exchange of workers, brood, and queens. Mature colonies of all three species containing one or more fully fertile inseminated queens also sometimes adopt additional conspecific queens. Finally, we hypothesize that new col- onies can be formed as a result of the break-up of polydomous colonies into two or more autonomous units (budding). When considering these facts, one immediately notes a large amount of behavioral variability. Although we do not yet know whether any individual queen is potentially capable of doing more than one thing, young queens as a class can either join an estab- lished colony, found a new colony alone, or found a new colony in the company of one or more other queens. Colony life cycles and demographies are also variable. A colony can apparently have one or more queens at almost any stage of its development and can occupy one or more than one nest when mature enough to produce reproductives. Such behavioral variability is unusual, and its adap- tive significance is obscure. Thus, the behavioral ecology of these three species offers many opportunities for empirical and theoretical analysis.
Two problems are particularly salient. First, we have demon- strated that some queenless nests are parts of polydomous colonies;



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19821 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 271 and we presume that others are remnants of declining colonies. However, we can neither distinguish the two kinds of nests nor determine their relative frequencies. Reference to the proportion of nests producing all-male broods is not helpful because, in some species of Leptothoracine ants, female larvae can hibernate twice before pupating (Buschinger et al. 1975). Thus, a queenless colony might continue to produce female pupae for one or two years. Further work is needed to devise a simple means of distinguishing declining colonies from the queenless nests of polydomous colonies. Second, we would like to know how frequently these species employ the various modes of colony foundation which we have observed and postulated. Altogether, we report observations of 872 nonincipient nests of L. ambiguus, 342 nonincipient nests of L. longispinosus, and of 8 and 7 apparently incipient nests of these two species. If one assumed that the frequency of apparently incipient nests represented the frequency of incipient colonies in the popula- tion, one would have to conclude that the average lifespan of a colony is unreasonably long. Thus, we were led to propose budding as a frequent means of colony foundation. This proposal needs verification.
However, it was the degree to which L. ambiguus, L. curvispino- sus, and L. longispinosus are subject to social parasitism which initially aroused our interest; and several of the behavioral processes which we have described suggest means by which social parasitism might either evolve or be maintained. Colonies of all three species sometimes adopt newly mated conspecific queens, and colonies of L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus are sometimes founded pleo- metrotically. Since both these forms of polygyny require the peace- ful coexistence of queens and of workers which are the offspring of different queens, both forms of polygyny are factors which might render these species susceptible to social parasitism. To be accepted by a host-species colony, a parasite queen must somehow convince the host workers and perhaps the host queen or queens that she is a legitimate potential colony member. Since the queens and workers of these species naturally accept supernumerary queens, the parasite female's task is probably simplified.
Moreover, the tendency to seek adoption by existing colonies and the tendency to join pleometrotic foundress associations may repre- sent preadaptive traits from which parasitic modes of colony founda-



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272 Psyche [vo~. 89
tion might have evolved in such a group of closely related species. The queens of slave-making, temporary, and inquiline parasites found new colonies by securing adoption in a host-species colony (Buschinger 1970; Wilson 197 1). Although the colony-foundation behavior of such social parasites often involves an element of vio- lence which is probably lacking from the processes by which colo- nies of L. ambiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus adopt additional conspecific queens or additional foundresses join associa- tions (Wesson 1939; Alloway, personal observations), the tendencies to join conspecific colonies or foundress associations could form a basis from which more elaborate parasitic colony-foundation might evolve.
Finally, the kind of polydomy seen in L. ambiguus, and L. longi- spinosus also embodies factors which may be both preadaptive for the evolution of socially parasitic behavior and significant in render- ing a species subject to social parasitism. Polydomy in these species can involve a more or less continuous exchange of workers, brood, and queens among a colony's multiple nests. Such commerce requires a worker caste which is adept in carrying brood and adults in a fashion which might be preadaptive for slave-raiding (Busch- inger 1970). In this context it is noteworthy that Wilson (1 975) and Alloway (1980) have shown that L. ambiguus, L. curvispinosus, and L. longispinosus sometimes behave like facultative slave-makers. Polydomy also requires workers in one nest to accept and tend a brood from another nest even though it may carry a somewhat unfamiliar "nest odor". Yet, any tendency to care for unfamiliar brood might render a species vulnerable to social parasitism. The more ready host-species workers are to accept unfamiliar brood, the less exactly a parasite's brood need mimic that of the host. New colonies of L. longispinosus can be founded by a single young queen; and colonies of L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus can be founded by groups of two or more young queens. Mature colo- nies of these two species and of L. curvispinosus can become polyg- ynous or enhance the degree of their pre-existing polygyny by adopting young conspecific queens. Some colonies of L. ambiguus and L. longispinosus occupy more than one nest and exchange



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9 Alloway, Buschinger, Talbot, Stuart & Thomas 273 workers, queens, and brood among nests (polydomy). Other colo- nies have only one nest (monodomy). The significance of these find- ings for understanding the evolutionary origin and maintenance of social parasitism is discussed.
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