ASIAN
MYRMECOLOGY

online first (online version of paper published before print issue)

DOI: 10.20362/am.013002
Asian Myrmecology 13: e013006 (1-11)
article first published online: 28/December/2021

Colony composition in the Oriental ectatommine ant, Gnamptogenys menadensis in Peninsular Malaysia

FUMINORI ITO¹*, ROSLI HASHIM² and BRUNO GOBIN^1,3

Abstract:

Reproductive organization and mode of propagation in social insects can vary under different environmental conditions. To test this hypothesis, colony composition of Gnamptogenys menadensis was investigated in 38 colonies from Ulu Gombak, a tropical rain forest zone in Peninsular Malaysia, and compared to earlier data from Karaenta, a tropical monsoon zone in Sulawesi. As in Karaenta, both dealate queens and gamergates (mated egg laying workers) reproduced in Ulu Gombak. Coexistence of dealate queens and gamergates was never observed. The proportion of queen colonies in Ulu Gombak was similar to that in Karaenta, indicating that the occurrence of distinctive dry season in Karaenta does not affect colony reproductive strategies. Based on colony composition and dissection data, the colony life cycle in Ulu Gombak is postulated.

Keywords:

Arboreal ant, gamergates, reproduction, social structur

This article is part of the Asian Myrmecology Special Issue in memorial of Christian Peeters.

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¹Laboratory of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kagawa University, Ikenobe, Miki 761-0795, Japan

²Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

³Present address, PCS-Ornamental Plant Research, Schaessestraat 18, 9070 Destelbergen, Belgium

*Corresponding author: ito@ag.kagawa-u.ac.jp