Document Type
Peer-Review Article
Abstract
We excavated 66 mounds from 6 populations of Formica exsectoides in Michigan jack pine, collecting sexual caste pupae for sex ratio estimates and measurement of dimorphism. Reproductive caste brood was present in only 37 ofthe 66 mounds, and presence of reproductive caste brood was associated with larger mound surface area. Females were heavier than males, but did not differ from males in energy density. Sexes did not differ in timing or rate of development. Sex ratio estimates based on individual mounds ranged from 1.0 (all male) to 0.08 (female·biased). Four of the six study populations were strongly male·biased, while sex ratio estimates for the remaining populations did not differ from equal investment. While this interpopulation variation may be caused by genetic factors, the equal investment populations were 10· cated in or near patches of clear·cut forest, suggesting that environmental impacts should be investigated.
Recommended Citation
Rowe, H. C. and Bristow, C. M.
1999.
"Sex Ratio and Sexual Dimorphism in Formica Exsectoides, the Allegheny Mound Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae),"
The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 32
(2)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22543/0090-0222.1994
Available at:
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol32/iss2/11