Hello Mate cheers for the helpfull , advice i shall be carfull with crickets then , I have a tropical greenhouse and this is where the spiders live , they some how came in on plants and because i have loads of fruit flys and insects scurrying around the spiders did very well , i left them there because i have a few birds in there that love feeding on them , they are all good and i dont use any chemicals on the plants
so healthy insects to feed my Harpegnathos when i get them.
Just hope when they are posted next week they travel ok. The colony im receiving is only small , It has a queen and 4 or 5 workers plus eggs and larva.
Hey guys below is a document i came across online and thought it a great read for anyone wanting to keep these ants. Its mainly about Harpegathos salator but from what i have read and seen they are the same in behaviour as Harpegnathos
venator. I do not own the content below just sharing of the internet
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
Vol. 92, pp. 10977-10979, November 1995
Evolution
Reproductive cooperation between queens and their mated
workers: The complex life history of an ant with a valuable nest
CHRISTIAN PEETERS*t AND BERT HOLLDOBLERt
*Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Unite de Recherche Associ6e 667), Laboratoire d'Ethologie Experimentale et Comparee, Universit6 Paris Nord,
93430 Villetaneuse, France; and tTheodor-Boveri-Institut, Lehrstuhl Verhaltensphysiologie und Soziobiologie, Am Hubland, 97074 Wurzburg, Germany
Communicated by Edward 0. Wilson, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, August 18, 1995
ABSTRACT The life history of Harpegnathos saltator is
exceptional among ants because both queens and workers
reproduce sexually. Recently mated queens start new colonies
alone, but later some of the offspring workers also become
inseminated and take over the egg-laying role. This alternation
seems associated with the existence of very complex
underground nests, which are designed to survive floods.
Longevity of ponerine queens is low (a consequence of limited
caste dimorphism in this "primitive" subfamily), and upon the
death of an H. saltator foundress, the nest represents a
substantial investment. The queen's progeny should thus be
strongly selected to retain the valuable nests. Unlike the flying
queens, the workers copulate with males from their own
colonies, and, thus, their offspring are expected to be highly
related to the foundress. Colony fission appears not to occur
because a daughter fragment would lack an adequate nest for
protection. Thus, the annual production of queens in colonies
with reproductive workers remains essential for the establishment
of new colonies. This contrasts with various other
ponerine species in which the queens no longer exist.
The fundamental feature of insect societies is the inability of
a majority of their members to reproduce sexually. In ants
particularly, reproductives and helpers are morphologically
specialized for the performance of their contrasting roles
(queens and workers, respectively). Nonetheless, individual
ant workers commonly compete with the queen(s) and each
other over various aspects of reproduction. However, they
generally have only a limited number of options to increase
their fitness: (i) production of males, (ii) control of queen
differentiation, and (iii) control of sex allocation (1-6). Intracolonial
conflict takes on a different dimension in various
species of the morphologically "primitive" subfamily Ponerinae,
where workers are able to mate and thus produce diploid
offspring (7). This is possible because, in contrast to ants in
other subfamilies, workers in some of the Ponerinae have
retained a functional sperm receptacle. Thus, one or several
"gamergates" [this functional term emphasizes that inseminated
reproductives do not necessarily belong to the queen
caste (8)] occur in the colonies of some ponerine species, and
queens no longer exist (9). Queenless colonies reproduce
exclusively by fission (an existing colony divides and produces
two autonomous units) since, unlike queens, gamergates lack
the necessary opportunities to establish new colonies independently
(7). In ponerine species, founding queens need to
hunt outside their nest to feed the first generation of workers
(9, 10). In contrast, gamergates exhibit a limited behavioral
repertoire, and they never forage outside.
Harpegnathos saltator is one of the few ponerine ants known
in which queens occur together with gamergates. It affords a
unique opportunity to contrast the adaptive benefits of two
morphologically distinct types of reproductives. We suggest
Table 1. Worker populations and reproductive status in 15
colonies of H. saltator
Colony Colony Workers Mated
code size dissected workers Gamergates
RE-1 24 19 12 3
RE-2 74 69 25* 14
RE-3 31 + Qt 23 2 0
RE-4 72 + Qt 72 0 0
RE-5 67 55 7 3t
RE-6 32 + Qt 26 11 5
RF-1 78 + Qt 74 40 0
RF-2 33 + Qt 26 12 0
RF-S 36 + Qt 33 23 5
RF-6 33 + Qt 22 5 0
RH-1 182 170 56 9t
RL-15 66 + Qt 66 36 0
RB-3 >300 73 25* 12t
RB-4 302 88 5 2
RB-5 525 49 9 5*
All living individuals in 12 colonies were dissected, while in 3 large
colonies (RB series, from Bangalore) only a sample of the workers was
dissected. Collection dates are given in Table 2. The occurrence of
maturing yolky oocytes in the ovaries was used to determine which of
the mated workers were gamergates.
*Four young workers mated in the laboratory.
tQ indicates the occurrence of a mated fertile queen.
tMany dark yellow bodies present in most gamergates.
that the life history of H. saltator is based on an exceptional
form of cooperation between queens and their worker offspring-
although gamergates are able to continue reproduction
in an established colony, queens are necessary to start new
colonies.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
We excavated 44 colonies of H. saltator in Karnataka State,
southern India (11), during four trips in the period 1991-1994.
The physical structure of nests, with all inhabited chambers
close together and near the soil surface, made it possible to
collect all adults and brood. The average colony size in
Mudigere and Jog Falls was 51 ± 23 workers (n = 34).
Reproductive activity was determined by dissecting the ovaries
and sperm receptacles of 865 workers belonging to 15 colonies
(Table 1), as well as those of 30 dealate queens. We recorded
the presence of yellow bodies, which are the remains of nurse
cells deposited at the base of the ovarioles whenever an egg is
laid.
RESULTS
Dealate queens were found in 28 of the 44 colonies that were
excavated. They were dissected in 22 colonies, and there was
always only one inseminated queen with active ovaries and
many dark yellow bodies, except in colony RM-2, where two
queens were inseminated and had dark yellow bodies.
Table 2. Production of sexuals in 11 colonies collected at the end
of May 1992 (RE series) and the beginning of June 1993 (RF and
RH series)
Colony Alate
code queens
RE-1
RE-2
RE-3*
RE-4*
RE-5
RE-6*
RF-1*
RF-2*
RF-5*
RF-6*
RH-1
Total
8
22
24
9
19
7
12
120
16
79
Males
7
33
15
0
72
32
15
10
10
57
159
Counts include adults and pupae (483 cocoons were opened and
sexed). June data are incomplete because the departure of sexuals had
already started (following the first pre-monsoon showers). There were
no sexuals in 10 colonies collected during October 1991 (RB series).
*Founding queen still present.
A dealate queen was the sole egg-layer in 6 colonies (RE-3,
RE-4, RF-1, RF-2, RF-6, RL-15) of the 15 colonies in which
the ovarian activity of workers was determined, while gamergates
reproduced as well in two other queenright colonies
(Table 1). However, these particular gamergates lacked dark
yellow bodies, suggesting that they had only recently started to
oviposit. In the seven remaining colonies, gamergates reproduced
exclusively. They had many dark yellow bodies in four
colonies (Table 1), indicating that they had been laying eggs for
some time already. Three to 14 gamergates were found per
colony. Their fecundity (0.5-1 egg per day) is about half that
of the queens (C.P., J. Liebig, and B.H., unpublished data).
In total, inseminated workers were found in all but one
(RE-4) of the 15 colonies that were dissected (Table 1). The
proportion of mated workers varied considerably among colonies
(from 9% in RE-3 to 70% in RF-5). However, only a few
of these mated workers laid eggs-i.e., were gamergates-and
none oviposited in five queenright colonies.
Field data indicate that sexuals are active only during a few
weeks of the year in May and June (Table 2). Even the small
colonies produced both winged queens and males. We never
succeeded in observing mating activity in the field, despite
being present during the appropriate season. Five dealate and
inseminated queens were collected on the ground in June 1994
and later laid eggs and produced workers in the laboratory
(C.P., J. Liebig, and B.H., unpublished data), which confirms
that newly mated queens shed their wings and establish new
colonies without the help of workers.
Our field and laboratory results reveal that there are different
stages in the ontogeny of colonies in H. saltator (Fig. 1).
Colonies are founded by queens, but the latter are eventually
replaced by gamergates. Dissection data suggest that young
workers mate during the first period of sexual activity following
a colony's initiation, even when the founding queen is still
actively laying eggs. In the laboratory, young workers copulated
successfully with males produced in their own colonies,
and we expect this to occur in nature also. While the queen is
present, however, workers usually do not have active ovaries.
The occurrence of both the founding queen and gamergates in
two colonies confirms that colonies with gamergates were
originally queenright, and it suggests that once the queen's
fecundity decreases (presumably with age), workers are no
longer inhibited. Such declining queens soon die.
DISCUSSION
The key element underlying the occurrence of both queens and
gamergates in H. saltator is the exceptionally complex, waterproof
nests, which ensure survival in a flood-prone habitat
(11). The nest of an average-sized colony consists of a vaulted,
impermeable earthen shell, which encloses a few superimposed
chambers. This shell is separated from the surrounding soil by
an empty space, which connects to another cavity deeper in the
FIG. 1. Life cycle of H. saltator reconstructed from field data and dissections of ovaries and sperm receptacles. The different transitional stages
are illustrated by colonies (see Table 1) in which the reproductive status of all members was known. Sexuals are only active for a short period of
the year. Males mate with workers from their own colonies, or they fly out and presumably search for queens.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92 (1995)
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92 (1995) 10979
soil; the latter is usually filled with prey remains but may also
serve to evacuate run-off water (11). Thus, H. saltator creates
a highly valuable and persistent microhabitat, in contrast to
most other Ponerinae, which have simple nests and readily
move from one nest site to another (12). This has several
consequences, which may explain (i) why gamergates replace
the founding queen and (ii) why gamergate colonies continue
to produce new queens every year.
Founding queens in ants sometimes live for many years (13).
Although we have no direct observations on queen longevity
in H. saltator, our demographic data suggest that they die
relatively young (2-3 years?). Short life-spans seem associated
with the limited queen-worker dimorphism typical of the
Ponerinae and are not unique to H. saltator. By the time the
fecundity of a founding queen decreases, her nest represents a
substantial investment in labor, and her lineage would be
selected to retain it. The foundress is thus succeeded by several
gamergates whose offspring are likely to be highly related to
her. Indeed, not only do workers inbreed within the colony, but
the males, as well as the workers, are produced by the founding
queen (virgin workers with active ovaries were never found).
In this situation, selection against letting foreign genes enter
the colony is expected. Similarly, many termites exhibit a
regular alternation between inbreeding and outbreeding (14),
which corresponds also to periods of colony growth and
dispersal.
In queenless ponerine ants, fission is the obligate means of
colony reproduction (7, 9). Few details are known about the
mechanisms of fission, but it probably results from fragmentation
of a colony during above ground emigration. Nest
relocation is frequent in many ants (13). In H. saltator, the
existence of a specialized nest appears essential for colony
survival: since a newly emigrated colony would lack an adequate
nest for protection, such emigration is unlikely. Furthermore,
the elaborate nests represent valuable "estates" which
should not be readily abandoned. Accordingly, we expect that
colony fission does not occur in this species. Gamergate
colonies can perpetuate themselves (cohorts of young workers
mate annually), but they are confined to the original nests.
Thus, a regular production of queens remains essential for the
initiation of new colonies.
The coexistence of queens and gamergates has been documented
in only a few ponerine ants. In Rhytidoponera confusa,
they are never found together (15) because workers appear to
mate and reproduce in orphaned colonies only. The gamergate
colonies can multiply through fission, and they seldom produce
new queens. In Platythyrea arnoldi (ref. 16; C.P., unpublished
data) and Pachycondyla tridentata (17), both morphological
categories of reproductives coexist within the same colonies,
but their respective roles in the life history are incompletely
understood. The advantages of aerial dispersal and the colonization
of new habitats have generally been invoked as the
adaptive basis for the persistence of winged queens. In the ant
Technomyrmex albipes (subfamily Dolichoderinae), winged
queens disperse and establish new colonies but are eventually
replaced by wingless intercastes-i.e., phenotypic intermediates
between queens and workers (18). Intercastes are produced
in large numbers, and almost all are inseminated and
reproduce in the huge colonies (several millions of adults) of
this species. Such secondary polygyny in T. albipes seems
adaptive in terms of the exploitation of local habitats through
colony fission.
Colony survivorship exceeds queen life-span in a number of
ants (13), which is possible because newly mated queens can be
adopted into established colonies-e.g., various species with
multiple queens of Formica and Camponotus (subfamily Formicinae)
(19, 20). This strategy, however, would not be economical
in those ponerine species in which workers are competent
to reproduce sexually. In H. saltator, natural selection
should favor gamergates to replace the foundress, but the
production of the specialized queen caste remains adaptive to
disperse aerially and found new colonies elsewhere. As in most
ants, the founding stage represents a bottleneck, and many
incipient H. saltator colonies will probably fail.
In several ponerine ants, the queens have been permanently
replaced by gamergates since colonies with the latter are able
to multiply (7). Such fission of gamergate colonies cannot
occur in H. saltator, due to the exceptional nature of the nests.
Queens and gamergates exhibit distinct reproductive capabilities,
and they perform interdependent roles in this species.
