Diacamma

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Diacamma
CharlesLam - Diacamma rugosum.jpg
Diacamma rugosum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ponerinae
Tribe: Ponerini
Genus: Diacamma
Mayr, 1862
Type species
Ponera rugosa
Le Guillou, 1842
Diversity [1]
24 species [1]

Diacamma is a genus of queenless ants belonging to the subfamily Ponerinae. [2] It is distributed from India to Australia and contains about 24 species. [3]

Contents

Biology

A queen caste does not exist in Diacamma. Unique to this genus, all workers emerge from cocoons with a pair of tiny innervated thoracic appendages (gemmae) that are homologous with wings. Mutilation leads to a permanent change in lifetime trajectory, because workers lacking gemmae never mate. This is unlike other queenless ants where workers establish a dominance hierarchy to regulate reproduction. In Diacamma only one worker retains her gemmae in each colony, she is the gamergate (mated egglaying worker), and she bites off the gemmae of newly emerged workers. Mutilation causes the degeneration of the neuronal connections between the sensory hairs on the gemma's surface and the central nervous system, and this may explain the irreversibility of modifications in individual behaviour. [2]

Species

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ponerinae</span> Subfamily of ants

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<i>Anochetus</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Centromyrmex</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Hypoponera</i> Genus of ants

Hypoponera is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. The genus has a worldwide distribution and is found in all continents except Antarctica.

<i>Cryptopone</i> Genus of ants

Cryptopone is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. The genus has a worldwide distribution, with most species occurring in Asia. Workers range from very small to medium in size (1.7–6.1 mm), with the queens being slightly larger.

<i>Platythyrea</i> Genus of ants

Platythyrea is a genus of predaceous ants in the subfamily Ponerinae and the sole member of the tribe Platythyreini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamergate (ant)</span> Reproductively viable female worker ant

A gamergate is a mated worker ant that can reproduce sexually, i.e., lay fertilized eggs that will develop as females. In the vast majority of ant species, workers are sterile and gamergates are restricted to taxa where the workers have a functional sperm reservoir ('spermatheca'). In some species, gamergates reproduce in addition to winged queens, while in other species the queen caste has been completely replaced by gamergates. In gamergate species, all workers in a colony have similar reproductive potentials, but as a result of physical interactions, a dominance hierarchy is formed and only one or a few top-ranking workers can mate and produce eggs. Subsequently, however, aggression is no longer needed as gamergates secrete chemical signals that inform the other workers of their reproductive status in the colony.

<i>Odontoponera</i> Genus of ants

Odontoponera is a small Southeast Asia genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae.

<i>Bothroponera</i> Genus of ants

Bothroponera is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. It is distributed in Africa and Asia.

<i>Brachyponera</i> Genus of insects

Brachyponera is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae.

<i>Rasopone</i> Genus of ants

Rasopone is genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. The genus is restricted to Central and South America.

<i>Ectomomyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Ectomomyrmex is a ponerine genus of ants found in Asia and Australia. Little is known about their biology, but they seem to be generalist predators of arthropod prey.

<i>Mesoponera</i> Genus of ants

Mesoponera is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. It is found in the tropics, from Sub-Saharan Africa to Australia.

<i>Neoponera</i> Genus of ants

Neoponera is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. Restricted to the Neotropics, the genus is found from southern Texas to southern Brazil. Workers are slender, and medium to large in size (6.5–19 mm); queens are similar to workers but larger and winged.

Ophthalmopone is a ponerine genus of ants found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Workers are slender and large in size (8–13.5 mm). Queens seem to be absent, but gamergates present.

<i>Pseudoneoponera</i> Genus of ants

Pseudoneoponera is a ponerine genus of ants found from India to Australia, they are mostly non queen species, most of the species within the genus thrives on only gamergates.

<i>Diacamma rugosum</i> Species of ant

Diacamma rugosum, also known as the Bornean queenless ant or Asian bullet ant, is a species of ant of the subfamily Ponerinae. It is found in many countries throughout Southeast Asia. 20 subspecies are recognized.

References

  1. 1 2 Bolton, B. (2014). "Diacamma". AntCat. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Genus: Diacamma". antweb.org. AntWeb . Retrieved 11 October 2013.
  3. Schmidt, C. A; Shattuck, S. O. (2014). "The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior". Zootaxa . 3817 (1): 1–242. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3817.1.1. PMID   24943802.