Heinze, Jürgen and Marschall, Jella and Lautenschlaeger, Birgit and Seifert, Bernhard and Gratiashvili, Nana and Strohm, Erhard (2021) Courtship with two spoons-Anatomy and presumed function of the bizarre antennae of Cardiocondyla zoserka ant males. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 11 (12). pp. 7827-7833. ISSN 2045-7758
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Mating in ants often occurs on the wing during nuptial flights or on the ground when scattered female sexuals attract males by pheromones. In both scenarios, there is little opportunity for males to engage in prolonged aggressive competition or elaborate courtship displays. Male morphology is therefore adapted to locating female sexuals and mating, and it lacks specific weapons or other traits associated with courtship. In contrast, sexuals of the ant genus Cardiocondyla typically mate in their natal nests. As a consequence, in many species winged males have been replaced by wingless fighter or territorial males, which kill or expel rival males with their strong mandibles and show complex mating behavior. However, no wingless males are known from Cardiocondyla zoserka from West Africa, and instead, winged males have evolved a bizarre secondary sexual trait: uniquely shaped antennae with spoon-like tips that show heavily sculptured ventral surfaces with numerous invaginations. We here report on the courtship behavior of C. zoserka males and describe antennal glands with class 3 gland cells, which presumably secrete a close range sex pheromone. Antennal glands have not yet been found in males of other ant species, including a close relative of C. zoserka, suggesting that in ants with intranidal mating sexual selection can rapidly lead to highly divergent adaptations and the evolution of novel structures.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | WASPS HYMENOPTERA; DIMORPHIC MALES; GLANDS; EVOLUTION; BEHAVIOR; FORMICIDAE; COMPETITION; MORPHOLOGY; SENSILLA; TRAITS; antennal glands; Formicidae; Hymenoptera; mating behavior |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie > Zoologie/Evolutionsbiologie (Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinze) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Jul 2022 10:21 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Jul 2022 10:21 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/46227 |
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