Nest temperatures and thermal preferences of a forest ant species: Is seasonal polydomy a thermoregulatory mechanism?

Insectes Sociaux

Volumn 44, Issue 2, 1997, Pages 109-122

  Banschbach, V S ^a,b   Levit, N ^a   Herbers, J M ^a,c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT   (United States)

^b DAVIDSON COLLEGE   (United States)

^c Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences   (United States)

Author keywords

Microclimate; Myrmica; Nest site selection; Polydomy; Thermoregulation

Indexed keywords

EID: 0030958665     PISSN: 00201812     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s000400050034     Document Type: Article

References (30)

1. Banschbach, V. S. and J. M. Herbers, 1996. Complex colony structure in social insects: I. Ecological determinants and genetic consequences. Evolution 50:285-297.
2. Brian, M. V., 1963. Studies of caste differentiation in Myrmica rubra L. 6 Factors influencing the course of female development in the early third instar. Insectes soc. 70:91-102.
3. Brian, M. V., 1973. Temperature choice and its relevance to brood survival and caste determination in the ant Myrmica rubra L. Physiol. Zool. 46:245-252.
4. Brian, M. V. and A.D. Brian, 1951. Insolation and ant population in the west of Scotland. Trans. of the Royal Ent. Soc. of London 102:303-330.
5. Brian, M. V. and A.F. Kelly, 1967. Studies of caste differentiation in Myrmica rubra L. 9. Maternal environment and the caste bias of larvae. Insectes soc. 14:13-24.
6. Buschinger, A., 1973. The role of daily temperature rhythms in brood development of ants of the tribe Leptothoracini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). In: Effects of Temperature on Ectothermic Organisms. Ecological Implications and Mechanisms of Compensation. (W. Wieser, Ed.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 229-232.
7. Calabri, P. and S.D. Porter, 1989. Worker longevity in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, ergonomic considerations of correlations between temperature, size, and metabolic rates. J. Insect Physiol. 35:643-650.
8. Ceusters, R., 1977. Social homeostasis in colonies of Formica polyctena Foerst. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): nestform and temperature preferences. Proc. 8th Int. Cong., IUSSI, Wageningen. pp. 111-112.
9. Coenen-Staß, D., B. Schaarschmidt and I. Lamprecht, 1980. Temperature distribution and calorimetric determination of heat production in the nest of the wood ant, Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Ecology 61:238-244.
10. Cokendolpher, J. C. and O. F. Francke, 1984. Temperature preferences of four species of fire ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Solenopsis). Psyche 92:91-101.
11. Creighton, W. S., 1950. The Ants of North America. Cosmos Press, Cambridge, Mass. 585 pp.
12. Elmes, G. W. and J. C. Wardlaw, 1983. A comparison of the effect of temperature on the development of large hibernated larvae of four species of Myrmica (Hym. Formicidae). Insectes soc. 30:106-118.
13. Franks, N.R., 1989. Thermoregulation in army ant bivouacs. Physiol. Entomol. 14:397-404.
14. Heinrich, B., 1993. The Hot-Blooded Insects. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
15. Herbers, J. M., 1989. Community structure in north temperate ants: temporal and spatial variation. Oecologia 81:201-211.
16. Herbers, J.M. and V.S. Banschbach, 1995. Size-dependent nest site choice by cavity-dwelling ants. Psyche 102:13-17.
17. Horstmann, K. and H. Schmid, 1986. Temperature regulation in nests of the wood ant, Formica polyctena (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomol. Generalis 11:229-236.
18. Jeanne, R.L. and R. C. Morgan, 1992. The influence of temperature on nest site choice and reproductive strategy in a temperate zone Polistes wasp. Ecol. Entomol. 17:135-141.
19. Lindauer, M., 1961. Communication Among Social Bees. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
20. Pontin, A. J., 1960. Field experiments on colony foundation by Lasius niger (L.) and L. flavus (F.) (Hym., Formicidae). Insectes soc. 7:227-230.
21. Porter, S.D., 1988. Impact of temperature on colony growth and developmental rates of the ant Solenopsis invicta. J. Insect. Physiol. 34:1127-1133.
22. Porter, S.D. and W.R. Tschinkel, 1993. Fire ant thermal preferences: behavioral control of growth and metabolism. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 32:321-329.
23. Protomastro, J. J., 1973. Relación entre el comportamiento de crianza y un ritmo diario preferencia térmica en la hormiga Camponotus mus Roger. Physis (Buenos Aires) 52:123-128.
24. Roces, F. and J. A. Núñez, 1989. Brood translocation and circadian variation of temperature preference in the ant Campotonus mus. Oecologia 81:33-37.
25. Rosengren, R., W. Fortelius, K. Lindström and A. Luther, 1987. Phenology and causation of nest heating and thermoregulation in red wood ants of the Formica rufa group studied in coniferous forest habitats in southern Finland. Ann. Zool. Fennici 24:147-155.
26. Snyder, L. E., 1988. Colony subdivision and sex ratios in the ant Myrmica punctiventris: an analysis of queen-worker conflict. Ms. Thesis, University of Vermont.
27. Snyder, L. E. and J.M. Herbers, 1991. Polydomy and sexual allocation ratios in the ant Myrmica punctiventris. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 25:409-415.
28. Steiner. A., 1929. Temperaturuntersuchungen in Ameisennestern mit Erdkuppeln, im Nest von Formica exsecta Nyl. und in Nestern unter Steinen. Z. Vergl. Physiol. 9:1-66.
29. Vanderplank, F. L., 1960. The bionomics and ecology of the red tree ant, Oecophylla sp., and its relationship to the coconut bug Prendotheraptus wayi Brown (Coreidae). J. Anim. Ecol. 29:15-33.
30. Weir, J. S., 1958. The effect of temperature variation on queen oviposition and colony foundation in Myrmica. J. Insect Physiol. 1:352-360.