Nutrient storage in the major workers of pheidole ryukyuensis (hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

There are functionally 2 types of major workers in the subtropical ant Pheidole ryukyuensis. One has a largely distended abdomen in which the crop is repleted with nutrient, and the other has a non-distended abdomen. In laboratory starvation experiments, minor workers kept with a major worker having a distended abdomen survived significantly (about 4 times) longer than minor workers kept alone or with a major worker who did not have such an abdomen. The major workers with distended abdomens were thus considered as ‘repletes’ (workers bearing the nutient storage task). They were less pigmented and slightly larger than non-replete majors. This indicates that young and larger major workers tend to become the repletes. © 1990, JAPANESE SOCIETY OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY AND ZOOLOGY. All rights reserved.