REGULATION OF REPRODUCTION IN THE NEOTROPICAL PONERINE ANT, PACHYCONDYLA-VILLOSA

Workers in queenless groups of the ant Pachycondyla villosa engage in antennal boxing and biting and by these interactions establish social dominance hierarchies, in which several high-ranking individuals may l ay eggs. We observed egg cannibalism by dominant workers. The presence of larvae negatively effects the number of worker-produced eggs in qu eenless colony fragments in two ways. First, larvae feed on the eggs, and second, workers lay fever eggs when larvae are present. In queenri ght colonies, workers lay eggs at a low rate, which are eaten by the q ueen or fed to the brood, but apparently they do not compete aggressiv ely for egg-laying.