Jm. Herbers et Rj. Stuart, PATTERNS OF REPRODUCTION IN SOUTHERN VERSUS NORTHERN POPULATIONS OF LEPTOTHORAX ANTS (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE), Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 89(3), 1996, pp. 354-360
Populations of 2 Leptothorax ant species were sampled near the edge of
their ranges. The southern population of L. curvispinosus Mayr showed
no significant demographic shifts from northern populations, but the
southern population of L. longispinosus Roger was almost exclusively m
onogynous, in contrast to northern counterparts. In both species, we f
ound clear evidence of queen-worker conflict over allocation to males
and also over allocation to growth versus reproduction in the southern
populations. Geographic variation between populations can prove very
useful for investigating evolutionary dynamics in social insects.