Absence of Host Queens Enhances Aggression among Queens of the Workerless Inquiline Ant Vollenhovia nipponica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

摘要

Several ant species show aggression with regard to reproduction among colony members. The frequency of aggression varies with species, season, and/ or colony size. To know the factors affecting this frequency is important for understanding the significance of the aggression. Here we report that in the workerless inquiline ant Vollenhovia nipponica the absence of queens of their host Vollenhovia emeryi resulted in remarkable increase of the frequency of aggression among the inquiline queens. This behavioral alteration according to the presence or absence of host queens indicates an ability of the parasite ants to assess their host condition.