Discrimination between nestmates and non-nestmates in social insects is thought to rely on the pattern of cuticular hydrocarbons.We investigated the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of 2 parapatric sibling ant species,T...Discrimination between nestmates and non-nestmates in social insects is thought to rely on the pattern of cuticular hydrocarbons.We investigated the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of 2 parapatric sibling ant species,Temnothorax nylanderi(Förster,1850)and Temnothorax crassispinus(Karavaiev,1926),and their hybrid.We found that although the profiles show considerable similarities,a discriminant analysis based on the relative peak areas of cuticular hydrocarbons separates the 3 taxa.The profiles of hybrids were not consistently intermediate between those of the paternal species,suggesting either non-additive interactions among the parental biosynthetic pathways or systematic differ-ences in environment-derived odor cues.展开更多
The small formicoxenine ant Temnothorax saxonicus was known from about 40 localities in Central Europe nesting in anorganie substrates on floor of xerothermous forests whereas investigations of 198 tree canopies in 19...The small formicoxenine ant Temnothorax saxonicus was known from about 40 localities in Central Europe nesting in anorganie substrates on floor of xerothermous forests whereas investigations of 198 tree canopies in 19 forest sites of the same region provided no indication for arboreal nesting or foraging. We present the first evidence for canopy-nesting populations of T. saxonicus on old Quercus trees in 3 sites having maximum calibrated topsoil temperatures of 17.9 ± 0.3 ℃ which were significantly （P 〈 0.007） lower than 22.8 ± 2.0 ℃ measured in 5 sites with ground-nesting populations. The thermal deficit on forest floor inhibits brood development in ground nests and caused a moving to canopy were maximum calibrated temperatures of the, now wooden, substrates are at least 26.1 ℃for the whole canopy and 30.8 ℃ in more sun-exposed spots. T. saxonieus competed here successfully with the obligatory canopy ants T. affinis and T. cortiealis. The distributional data of this rope-climbing study support former results that highest nest densities of small arboreal ants occur in temperate climate over the entire canopy mantle of single trees situated in open land or in park-like environments but occur in the top of the canopy in tree stands with high degree of canopy closure.展开更多
基金This project was carried out with permission from Al-Azhar University,Cairo and the Ministry of High Educa-tion of the Arab Republic of Egypt,and supported by funds from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.
文摘Discrimination between nestmates and non-nestmates in social insects is thought to rely on the pattern of cuticular hydrocarbons.We investigated the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of 2 parapatric sibling ant species,Temnothorax nylanderi(Förster,1850)and Temnothorax crassispinus(Karavaiev,1926),and their hybrid.We found that although the profiles show considerable similarities,a discriminant analysis based on the relative peak areas of cuticular hydrocarbons separates the 3 taxa.The profiles of hybrids were not consistently intermediate between those of the paternal species,suggesting either non-additive interactions among the parental biosynthetic pathways or systematic differ-ences in environment-derived odor cues.
文摘The small formicoxenine ant Temnothorax saxonicus was known from about 40 localities in Central Europe nesting in anorganie substrates on floor of xerothermous forests whereas investigations of 198 tree canopies in 19 forest sites of the same region provided no indication for arboreal nesting or foraging. We present the first evidence for canopy-nesting populations of T. saxonicus on old Quercus trees in 3 sites having maximum calibrated topsoil temperatures of 17.9 ± 0.3 ℃ which were significantly （P 〈 0.007） lower than 22.8 ± 2.0 ℃ measured in 5 sites with ground-nesting populations. The thermal deficit on forest floor inhibits brood development in ground nests and caused a moving to canopy were maximum calibrated temperatures of the, now wooden, substrates are at least 26.1 ℃for the whole canopy and 30.8 ℃ in more sun-exposed spots. T. saxonieus competed here successfully with the obligatory canopy ants T. affinis and T. cortiealis. The distributional data of this rope-climbing study support former results that highest nest densities of small arboreal ants occur in temperate climate over the entire canopy mantle of single trees situated in open land or in park-like environments but occur in the top of the canopy in tree stands with high degree of canopy closure.
