Polietismo etário e repertório comportamental de Ectatomma opaciventre Roger, 1861 (Formicidae, Ponerinae)Polietismo etário e repertório comportamental de Ectatomma opaciventre Roger, 1861 (Formicidae, Ponerinae)

Abstract

The behavioral repertoire of Ectatomma opaciventre Roger, 1861 and the occurrence of age polyethism in this Ponerinae ant was investigated. The study was conducted under laboratorial conditions (Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e de Interações – LECI – Universidade Federal
de Uberlândia), where one colony (80 individuals: one queen and 79 workers) was maintained. Observations were performed through sessions of 30 minutes (“ad libitum” sense), in a total of 10 hours of qualification and 20 hours of quantification of behavioral acts. We registered forty-eight different behavioral acts that were classified in eight groups of activities. Parental care, defense, environment exploitation, foraging and grooming were the most important groups, respectively. We also recorded evidence of age polyethism, with young workers performing significantly more brood care and allogrooming than other ones. Immobility and behavior of reproductive castes are pointed out as important acts to be evaluated in behavioral repertoires of hymenopterans.