Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 33() 1990
Mating behaviour in the ant Myrmica rubra (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
Abstract:
Experiments and observation of mating behaviour in Myrmica rubra during the nuptial flights in the Polish Carpathians showed that, in natural conditions, the majority of queens seem to be monandrous. Repeated matings of queens were explained by their unability to escape after the initial mating or by multiple male matings leading to the depletion of their semen. The duration of mating, depends on the male’s previous matings, but also differs between different years. The queens’ attractivity decreases in time after their last mating, but even after the last mating, multiple-mating queen is more attractive to males than a queen which mated only once. The results are discussed in terms of kin selection theory and worker reproduction.
