Journal article
Antennal asymmetry is not associated with social behaviour in Australian Hymenoptera
Christopher B Freelance, Megha Majoe, Simon M Tierney, Mark A Elgar
AUSTRAL ENTOMOLOGY | WILEY | Published : 2019
DOI: 10.1111/aen.12368
Abstract
Lateralisation of biological form and function are well known for vertebrates and are being increasingly documented among invertebrates in recent years. Behavioural lateralisation in insects, together with asymmetrical distributions of antennal sensilla, has been linked to the communication challenges faced by social, but not solitary, insects. Recent evidence on patterns of asymmetry in insects outside of the Hymenoptera suggests that this explanation for antennal sensilla asymmetry may not be phylogenetically constrained. We explore this possibility by examining the distribution of antennal sensilla in three species of ants (Formicidae), the meat ant Iridomyrmex purpureus (Dolichoderinae),..
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Funding Acknowledgements
The authors extend their thanks to Roger Curtain at the Bio21 Advanced Microscopy Facility for technical assistance with the scanning electron microscopy, to Parks Victoria for facilitating fieldwork at Serendip Sanctuary, to Qike Wang for collecting the green tree ant specimens and to Ken Walker from Museum Victoria for providing bee specimens from the MV entomology collection. All scanning electron microscopy was performed at the Bio21 Advanced Microscopy Facility. CF is supported by the Australian Government Research Training Program.