Artigo
PATTERNS OF COLONIZATION AND INCIPIENT NEST SURVIVAL IN ACROMYRMEX-NIGER AND ACROMYRMEX-BALZANI (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE)
Fecha
1992-01-01Registro en:
Insectes Sociaux. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag Ag, v. 39, n. 3, p. 347-350, 1992.
0020-1812
10.1007/BF01323955
WOS:A1992JQ49100011
7251053552637553
Autor
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Resumen
Patterns of colonization by queens and incipient nest survival of the leaf-cutting ants Acromyrmex niger and Acromyrmex balzani were studied by means of belt transects and individually marked incipient nests. No relation was found between colony density and the number of colonization attempts. Both species are not claustral, and high rates of queen mortality were attributed to conspecific executions and predation. of other discernable mortality factors, failure of fungal garden establishment was the most important. Only 34 of 296 A. balzani and 13 of 154 A. niger marked colonies were alive at the end of one year. These figures are higher than those reported for species of Atta. These results are contrasted with those of claustral-founding Atta species. Small colonies are occasionally raided by larger colonies which robbed brood.