Stimulation of Fire Ant Queen Fecundity by a Highly Specific Brood Stage

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Abstract
Fourth instars of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, stimulate ovarian development and egg-laying in the queen. Fourth instars were separated into feeding, meconium-forming, postmeconial, and pupal stages, and each was tested for their effect on queen fecundity. Meconial-stage brood stimulated queens to lay eggs 60-170% faster than the other stages, which suggests that the stimulatory factor is released mainly at meconium formation. For brood to be effective, brood and queens must be present in the same nest. The effect of brood stage on ovarian development was significant only under some circumstances. Behavioral observations indicate that a certain group of workers repeatedly collects an unknown material from the anus of pharate pupae and proceeds more or less directly to the queen retinue, where they offer trophallactic exchange to the queen. Neither larva-tending nor most queen-tending workers shuttle in this manner. Results suggest that a specialized group of workers transfers a fecundity-stimulating anal factor from early postmeconial brood to the queen.

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