Vollenhovia

Mayr, 1865

Species Guides

1

Vollenhovia is a of myrmicine ants distributed primarily in the Australasian and Oriental regions, with notable diversity in India, Sri Lanka, and East Asia. The genus contains exhibiting remarkable reproductive strategies, including clonal by males (androgenesis) and in wing . At least one species, Vollenhovia nipponica, has evolved workerless social (inquilinism) on congeneric . The genus serves as an important model system for studying the evolution of unusual determination, sex determination systems, and reproductive isolation mechanisms.

Vollenhovia emeryi by (c) Jonghyun Park, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jonghyun Park. Used under a CC-BY license.Vollenhovia by no rights reserved, uploaded by Philipp Hoenle. Used under a CC0 license.Vollenhovia by (c) Jonghyun Park, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Jonghyun Park. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Vollenhovia: //ˌvɒl.ɛnˈhoʊ.vi.ə//

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Identification

-level identification within Vollenhovia requires examination of qualitative and quantitative morphological characters. In the Indian subcontinent, eleven are recognized based on morphological revision, with four species to the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot. (long-winged versus short-winged morphs) is present in some species and represents a key diagnostic feature for -level identification in V. emeryi. Comprehensive illustrated keys are available for regional faunas such as India and Sri Lanka.

Images

Distribution

Primarily distributed in the Australasian and Oriental regions. In the Indian subcontinent, the shows fragmentary known distribution requiring further sampling: four occur in the Western Ghats of Kerala, one is to Sri Lanka, three are known from Eastern India near the Bangladesh border, two from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and one from Himachal Pradesh in northern India. of V. emeryi have been studied in Korea, Japan, and North America.

Similar Taxa

  • WasmanniaBoth exhibit male-mediated clonal (androgenesis) where males produce genetically identical sperm, representing of this rare reproductive strategy in Myrmicinae.
  • MyrmicaBoth contain socially parasitic ; however, Vollenhovia nipponica is an (workerless ) while Myrmica inquilines typically retain , representing different evolutionary to social .

More Details

Reproductive Biology

Vollenhovia emeryi exhibits one of the most complex known in ants: queens and males are produced clonally ( for queens, androgenesis for males), while arise sexually from fertilized . This represents a complete reversal of the typical Hymenopteran pattern where males are haploid and produced from unfertilized eggs.

Queen Polymorphism and Reproductive Isolation

In V. emeryi, long-winged (L) and short-winged (S) morphs show genetic differentiation in mitochondrial , with S-queens forming a monophyletic clade. L-queens are predominantly infected with endosymbionts while S-queens lack , suggesting a link between resistance and wing reduction. The phylogenetic pattern indicates wing reduction occurred once and may promote reproductive isolation.

Social Parasitism

Vollenhovia nipponica is a workerless that parasitizes nests of V. emeryi. nests contain multiple V. nipponica queens (), but numbers decline seasonally. Inseminated queens establish where only individuals develop ovaries and lay , resembling 'functional .'

Tags

Sources and further reading