The loss of flight in ant workers enabled an evolutionary redesign of the thorax for ground labour.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Explanations for the ecological dominance of ants generally focus on the benefits of division of labour and cooperation during foraging. However, the principal innovation of ants relative to their wasp ancestors was the evolution of a new phenotype: a wingless worker caste optimized for ground labour. Ant workers are famous for their ability to lift and carry heavy loads, but we know surprisingly little about the morphological basis of their strength. Here we examine the consequences of the universal loss of flight in ant workers on skeletomuscular adaptations in the thorax for enhanced foraging on six legs.

Results

Using X-ray microcomputed tomography and 3D segmentation, we compared winged queens and wingless workers in Euponera sikorae (subfamily Ponerin

SUBMITTER: Peeters C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7574298 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature