Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Recovery Of Domestic Behaviors By A Parasitic Ant (Formica Subintegra) In The Absence Of Its Host (Formica Subsericea), Amber Nichole Hunter

MSU Graduate Theses

Dulosis is a type of social parasitism in which a parasitic ant has become dependent on captured workers (hosts) of a closely related species. Dulosis can be either facultative or obligate depending on the degree of dependence on host workers. As parasites become more specialized over evolutionary time, their domestic abilities degenerate until they become unable to survive without the host. However, the ‘lost’ behaviors may display some degree of recovery when host workers are unavailable to do the tasks. The Formica sanguinea group consists of 12 species of parasitic ants, which are all traditionally considered to be facultative parasites. …