VARIATION IN ANT AGGRESSION AND KIN DISCRIMINATION ABILITY WITHIN AND BETWEEN COLONIES

Significant variation in aggressiveness and kin discrimination ability occurs between different laboratory colonies of the ant Rhytidoponera confusa. Different colonies show consistently high (or low) levels of aggression toward nonnestmates over 4-19 weeks. Earlier studies excluded colony size and the natural presence or absence of the queen in colonies and differences in hunger as possible sources of variation. The present study excluded the number of larvae in colonies and the time of the light period of the light cycle when recognition tests were carried out. Highly significant variation occurs between the kin discrimination ability of individual workers in any particular colony. Approximately 28% of the workers in colonies of R. confusa showed very poor kin discrimination. Much of the colony's kin discrimination is carried out by a small number of highly aggressive workers. © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation.