Morphological Differences Between Sexes in the Ponerine Ant Diacamma sp. (Formicidae: Ponerinae)

概要

論文の詳細を見る
We report herein detailed morphological differences between sexes in the ponerine ant Diacamma sp. The female individuals of this species show monomorphism, making them particularly suitable among the social hymenopterans for comparing adult sexual traits and developmental processes. Our observations revealed some intriguing sex-specific characteristics. For example, antennal sensilla are gender-specialized in these ants; males possess sensilla coeloconica, thought to respond to air conditions, while females possess a particular type of sensilla basiconica that is a putative contact chemoreceptor. The antennal cleaners in the foretibiae of the legs are also sex-specific, in addition to the trichome patterns on the spurs in the mid- and hind tibiae. Furthermore, only male tarsal claws have a denticle inside the claw, and the male posterior abdomen has a hook-like curved spine at the edge of the eighth tergite. This spine is thought to facilitate the tight connection of a mating pair. Based on these findings, we hypothesized that most of the sexually dimorphic traits are morphologically specialized for and thus function in the different gender life strategies, such as flight ability, lifespan, and male suicidal copulation.
California State University, Chicoの論文