Polygyny, Inbreeding, and Wingless Males in the Malagasy Ant Cardiocondyla shuckardi Forel (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

The ant genus Cardiocondyla exhibits a fascinating diversity of its reproductive biology, with winged and wingless males, long-winged and short-winged queens, strict monogyny and facultative polygyny with or without queen fighting. Here we report on the previously unstudied Malagasy ant C. shuckardi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jürgen Heinze, Alexandra Schrempf, Honoré Rakotondrazafy, Tsiriniaina Rakotondranaivo, Brian L. Fisher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana 2014-09-01
Series:Sociobiology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/338
Description
Summary:The ant genus Cardiocondyla exhibits a fascinating diversity of its reproductive biology, with winged and wingless males, long-winged and short-winged queens, strict monogyny and facultative polygyny with or without queen fighting. Here we report on the previously unstudied Malagasy ant C. shuckardi. We describe the nesting habits, male morphology and colony structure of this species. Furthermore, based on the genotypes from three microsatellite loci we document a very high incidence of sib-mating.
ISSN:0361-6525
2447-8067