Relationship between Ovariole Number and Spermathecal Sperm Count in Ant Queens: a New Allometry

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Abstract
Spermathecae and ovaries were dissected from newly mated queens of 25 species of ants belonging to five subfamilies. The number of ovarioles in the ovaries and sperm in the spermathecae were counted. The log of the sperm count (y) showed a strong correlation (R2 = 0.79) with the log of the ovariole number (x) as follows: log y = 1.59 log x + 3.12. The number of sperm stored per ovariole increases from about 2,000 for queens with only 6 ovarioles to about 30,000 for queens with about 200. These relationships constitute complex kinds of allometry. Ovariole number is an index of a queen's reproductive capacity, but queens with more ovarioles also have a higher capacity per ovariole. The data further indicated that sperm are stored in relation to the number needed. This implies that sperm are not cheap for queens to store or males to produce, even for species with very low reproductive potential and sperm need.

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