title: The effects of age and past and present behavioral specialization on behavior of workers of the red wood ant Formica polyctena Först. during nestmate reunion tests.
abstract: Social insect workers usually participate first in intranidal tasks and then switch to extranidal ones. However, foragers may switch again to intranidal brood care. This process is called the behavioral reversion. We applied dyadic nestmate reunion tests to explore behavioral differences between five groups of workers of the red wood ant Formica polyctena: callows (newly eclosed workers), nurses, reverted nurses (foragers that switched back to intranidal brood care in response to exposure to brood in absence of nurses), and two groups of foragers. Inter-group differences between the tested ants were related both to age and past and present behavioral specialization. Callows were the least active and their behavior was characterized by the lowest tempo. Nurses usually behaved in a way intermediate in respect to behavior of callows and the ants that had already passed the transition to extranidal tasks. The behavior of reverted nurses showed both similarities and differences with respect to behavior of foragers. Some traits of behavior of reverted nurses were similar as in the case of nurses, or intermediate in respect to both nurses and foragers. Behavioral reversion of workers of F. polyctena has thus other behavioral correlates besides the reappearance of intranidal brood care.
authors: Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Pasteur St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: j.korczynska@nencki.gov.pl.
authors: Julita
authors: J
authors: Korczyńska
authors: Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Pasteur St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: a.szczuka@nencki.gov.pl.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Szczuka
authors: Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Pasteur St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: b.symonowicz@nencki.gov.pl.
authors: Beata
authors: B
authors: Symonowicz
authors: Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Pasteur St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: andrzej_wnuk@sggw.pl.
authors: Andrzej
authors: A
authors: Wnuk
authors: Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Pasteur St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: annagonz@log.neostrada.pl.
authors: Gonzalez Szwacka
authors: GS
authors: Anna
authors: Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Pasteur St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; College of Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Warsaw University, Żwirki i Wigury St. 93, PL 02-089 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: p.mazurkiewicz@student.uw.edu.pl.
authors: Paweł Jarosław
authors: PJ
authors: Mazurkiewicz
authors: Department of Experimental Design and Bioinformatics, Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS - SGGW), Nowoursynowska St. 159, PL 02-787 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: marcin_studnicki@sggw.pl.
authors: Marcin
authors: M
authors: Studnicki
authors: Laboratory of Ethology, Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Pasteur St. 3, PL 02-093 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: e.godzinska@nencki.gov.pl.
authors: Ewa Joanna
authors: EJ
authors: Godzińska
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: Behavioral ontogeny; Behavioral reversion; Formica polyctena; Formicidae; Nestmate reunion test; Polyethism