REPRODUCTIVE HIERARCHIES AMONG WORKERS OF THE SLAVE-MAKING ANT, CHALEPOXENUS-MUELLERIANUS

In queenright colonies of the slave-making ant, Chalepoxenus muelleria nus, workers formed dominance hierarchies through ritualized food begg ing and antennation bouts, but did not lay eggs. Within a few hours of the experimental removal of the queen, the frequency of dominance dis plays increased drastically and the interactions became considerably m ore violent. During the observation period, the dominant workers almos t incessantly attacked subordinate slave-makers and slaves by antennat ion and biting. The aggression rate decreased after approximately 3-4 wk. Within a single colony, several high-ranking workers were observed laying eggs, although typically only one or a few top-ranking individ uals became fully fertile. Directly after eclosion, young workers enga ged in aggressive interactions with other young workers and high-ranki ng old workers, but did not dominate the top-ranking egg-layers. Gallo ws achieved ranks immediately below the top-ranking worker.