التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
| العنوان: |
Colony foundation, nest architecture and demography of a basal fungus‐growing ant, Mycocepurus smithii (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). |
| المؤلفون: |
Fernández‐Marín, H.1 (AUTHOR), Zimmerman, J. K.2 (AUTHOR), Wcislo, W. T.3 (AUTHOR), Rehner, S. A.1 (AUTHOR) |
| المصدر: |
Journal of Natural History. 2005, Vol. 39 Issue 20, p1735-1743. 9p. |
| مصطلحات موضوعية: |
*ANTS, *FUNGI, *ANIMAL-fungus relationships, *BIOLOGY, *LIFE sciences |
| مصطلحات جغرافية: |
PUERTO Rico |
| مستخلص: |
The genus Mycocepurus is a phylogenetically basal attine ant, so studies of its biology may provide insight into the evolution of behaviours associated with fungus-growing that characterize the tribe Attini. Mycocepurus smithii from Puerto Rico produces sexual females from July to September, but no males were observed in 2 years of observations, confirming previous observations elsewhere. Colonies were founded between July and August and most nests were haplometrotic (85% of 74 nests). After excavating a tunnel and small chamber, a foundress queen inserted her fore wings into the ceiling and used the wing surfaces as a platform on which the incipient fungal garden was grown. Foundresses foraged for substrate to grow the fungus garden. Growth of incipient colonies was slow: the first workers emerged 2–5 months after colony founding and, after 8 months, colonies contained on average only a single worker. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| قاعدة البيانات: |
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