Article révisé par les pairs
| Résumé : | The destination of the transport of the inquiline guest beetle Claviger testaceus by the workers of the ant Lasius flavus is compared to that of insect corpses, live intruder insects and members of the society, in laboratory maintained colonies. The workers transport and deposit the Claviger guest beetle in the nest in the same place as an insect corpse in a condition to be eaten by the brood. The workers may deposit various decaying objects of insect origin, as well as living larvae, onto the beetle itself, just as they may do to an insect cadaver. Transport, in fact, chiefly depends on whether or not the larvae are supplied with dead insects by the workers. Larval feeding on meaty food mainly occurs in spring; however, even in this season, the colonies may not, at certain moments, provide solid food to all of their larvae. In societies nourishing the brood with dead insects, the workers locate live Claviger beetles (immobilized for the purpose of the study by the gluing of their legs together) and insect corpses mainly on the older larvae (referred to as class II larvae, recognizable by their meconium) or on the nest's refuse, or maintain these objects among the workers. The class II larvae not only feed on insect corpses, but also try to eat the Claviger beetles. In societies not nourishing the brood with dead insects, immobilized Claviger beetles and insect corpses are not deposited onto the larvae, but kept among the workers or rejected, mainly on the refuse. When the Claviger are free to move by themselves in the nest, they are found in the same locations; however, differences may occur due to the Claviger's own preferences and to the physiological state of the larvae. The presence of a queen increases the dead insect supply to the larvae in colonies recently settled in a laboratory and feeding their brood. In this case, the Claviger beetles are more frequently transported onto the larvae. |
