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1

Laboratory observations of nuptial flights of the ant Polyrhachis laboriosa

100%

Burnat K., Godzinska E.

Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis

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1997

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vol. 57

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issue 2

157-162

EN

Ethology of Polyrhachis laboriosa, an ant species from equatorial Africa, is little known. No field observation of a nuptial flight of these ants was ever made. We describe two nuptial flights observed in a laboratory colony of P. laboriosa at a 3 days interval. They both occurred in the morning while the nest was kept in near darkness (less than 2 lux of daylight). Flying activity of the alates was suppressed within 1 h by their exposure to daylight of about 140 lux, and within several minutes by their exposure to a lamp emitting white light of 3,000 lux and acting as a source of heat. On the day following the first flight the alates and the workers showed exceptionally high level of mutual grooming. The alates, in particular the males, were transported by workers to the brood chambers whenever they strayed outside and after the nuptial flights.

2

Factors influencing the responses to nest damage in the African weaver ant. Oecophylla longinoda /Latreille/

88%

Wojtusiak J., Godinska E. J.

Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis

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1993

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vol. 53

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issue 1

401-408

EN

Responses of the African weaver ants (Oecophylla longinoda) to nest damages were studied in the field in Nigeria. During the wet season, the ants responded to nest damages almost unexceptionnally by a quick onset of nest-repairing behaviour. The latencies to the start of nest-repairing activities (LN) did not depend on the size of the damage, but they were significantly shorter during the night, and positively correlated with ambient temperature. During the dry season, the ants responded to large nest damages mainly by abandonning the nest. In the case of medium size damages, the onset of nest-repairing behaviour was equally rapid as during the wet season, but in the case of small damages it was sometimes greatly delayed (up to three hours). The values of LN did not differ between the nighttime and the remaining times of the day, and they were not correlated with ambient temperature.

3

The effect of past and present group size on resposes to prey in the ant Formica polyctena Forst

75%

Szczuka A., Godzinska E. J.

Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis

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1997

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vol. 57

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issue 2

135-150

EN

We investigated the responses to insect prey (dead houseflies) in 24 'derivative groups' of workers of the ant Formica polyctena created by taking sets of 25 workers out of nine larger 'initial groups' kept in laboratory without queens and brood during the preceding five months. In the derivative groups the ants ceased to retrieve flies to their nests after a period ranging from few days to several weeks. The duration of that period did not depend on the present size of the derivative group (decreasing as a result of worker mortality), but was positively correlated with the estimated size of the initial group of the tested ants.The readiness to display venom spraying was higher in smaller derivative groups. These data demonstrate that responses ofF. polyctena to insect prey are strongly influenced both by the present and the past size of their group.

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1 Wojtusiak J.

Laboratory observations of nuptial flights of the ant Polyrhachis laboriosa

Factors influencing the responses to nest damage in the African weaver ant. Oecophylla longinoda /Latreille/

The effect of past and present group size on resposes to prey in the ant Formica polyctena Forst