Neither Worker, Nor Queen: An Ant Caste Specialized in the Production of Unfertilized Eggs
In addition to a queen and workers, colonies of the ant Crematogaster smithi Creighton from Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, may contain one or several conspicuous “large workers” whose size, external morphology, and number of ovarioles are intermediate between that of queens on one side and that of w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
1995-01-01
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| Series: | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1995/65249 |
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| _version_ | 1832563270627622912 |
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| author | J. Heinze S. P. Cover B. Hölldobler |
| author_facet | J. Heinze S. P. Cover B. Hölldobler |
| author_sort | J. Heinze |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In addition to a queen and workers, colonies of the ant Crematogaster smithi Creighton from Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, may contain one or several conspicuous “large workers” whose size, external morphology, and number of ovarioles are intermediate between that of queens on one side and that of workers on the other. According to laboratory observations, “large workers” are specialized for the production of unfertilized eggs, which are mainly eaten by the larvae and the queen but may develop into males in queenless colonies. We describe the morphology and the behavior of “large workers” and discuss their evolutionary significance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1cb5cafaae8d43c8b2f9cb45686aee35 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0033-2615 1687-7438 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 1995-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| spelling | doaj-art-1cb5cafaae8d43c8b2f9cb45686aee352025-02-03T01:20:30ZengWileyPsyche: A Journal of Entomology0033-26151687-74381995-01-011023-417318510.1155/1995/65249Neither Worker, Nor Queen: An Ant Caste Specialized in the Production of Unfertilized EggsJ. Heinze0S. P. Cover1B. Hölldobler2Zool Inst. I, Univ. Erlangen-Nürnberg, Staudtstrasse 5, Erlangen D-91058, GermanyMuseum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USATheodor-Boveri-Institut (Biozentrum), Lehrstuhl Verhaltensphysiologie and Soziobiologie, Würzburg D-97074, GermanyIn addition to a queen and workers, colonies of the ant Crematogaster smithi Creighton from Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, may contain one or several conspicuous “large workers” whose size, external morphology, and number of ovarioles are intermediate between that of queens on one side and that of workers on the other. According to laboratory observations, “large workers” are specialized for the production of unfertilized eggs, which are mainly eaten by the larvae and the queen but may develop into males in queenless colonies. We describe the morphology and the behavior of “large workers” and discuss their evolutionary significance.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1995/65249 |
| spellingShingle | J. Heinze S. P. Cover B. Hölldobler Neither Worker, Nor Queen: An Ant Caste Specialized in the Production of Unfertilized Eggs Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| title | Neither Worker, Nor Queen: An Ant Caste Specialized in the Production of Unfertilized Eggs |
| title_full | Neither Worker, Nor Queen: An Ant Caste Specialized in the Production of Unfertilized Eggs |
| title_fullStr | Neither Worker, Nor Queen: An Ant Caste Specialized in the Production of Unfertilized Eggs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neither Worker, Nor Queen: An Ant Caste Specialized in the Production of Unfertilized Eggs |
| title_short | Neither Worker, Nor Queen: An Ant Caste Specialized in the Production of Unfertilized Eggs |
| title_sort | neither worker nor queen an ant caste specialized in the production of unfertilized eggs |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/1995/65249 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jheinze neitherworkernorqueenanantcastespecializedintheproductionofunfertilizedeggs AT spcover neitherworkernorqueenanantcastespecializedintheproductionofunfertilizedeggs AT bholldobler neitherworkernorqueenanantcastespecializedintheproductionofunfertilizedeggs |