ESTABLISHMENT OF IMAGINAL WING DISKS IN L ARVAE OF NANITICS AND ORDINARY WORKERS OF THE GARDEN ANT LASIUS-NIGER (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE)

Based on the examination of all suitable characters (Size of head caps ule and mandibulae, diameter of stigmata, hairs) 4 instars could be id entified in the larval development of nanitics, ordinary workers, and sexuals of the garden ant Lasius niger (Linnaeus 1758). The most impor tant result of this study is the fact that in larvae, both of nanitics and ordinary workers, small imaginal wing discs appear which differen tiate up to the formation of wing pockets. This observation has some b earing on recent hypotheses [Peeters 1987, Wheeler 1991] suggesting di screte pathways for the development of female morphological castes, si nce it supports our previous understanding of caste formation in ants [Buschinger 1990: review].