ANT REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES

In contrast to what is generally believed, the reproductive strategies of ants are remarkably diverse and include such different phenomena, as wingless female and male sexuals, reproduction by mated workers, th elytokous parthenogenesis, and complete workerlessness. We review the various reproductive life histories and investigate them in the light of recent models on the evolution of dispersal strategies and multiple -queening. It appears that most deviations from ''normal'' colony prop agation can be explained by a decreased success of dispersal and solit ary founding by solitary queens in certain types of habitats. Conseque ntly, alternative reproductive strategies are found especially in thos e species, in which environmental conditions or a highly specialized w ay of life are thought to make solitary founding costly. Among the key factors, which determine the success of reproductive strategies, appe ar to be spatial and temporal distribution of habitats and the availab ility of nest sites.