Provost E
C.N.R.S. Equipe d'ETHOLOGIE,31 Ch. J. Aiguier, 13402 Marseille, France.
Behav Processes. 1989;18(1-3):35-59. doi: 10.1016/S0376-6357(89)80004-X. Epub 2014 Apr 15.
In the framework of a study of the mechanisms underlying mutual recognition phenomena between members of a Lepthothorax lichtensteini ant colony, we conducted two series of experiments, designed to investigate the effects of an experimental separation of individuals from their colony upon being reintroduced. Two parameters were examined: the length of the separation period and the social experience lived by these individuals during their separation. Workers living in groups of 5 individuals from the same colony or in an alien colony where they had been previously adopted were rejected by their own sisters when they were reintroduced into their colony, after a 70- and a 45-day period of separation respectively. We moreover investigated the effects on group cohesion of separating one colony into two halves, depending on whether of not the queen was present. After a 120-day separation, the 2 halves of a colony did not merge rapidly and without aggressivity, unless the single reproductive female was transferred from the one nest to the other every 15 days during the separation period. In the light of the results obtained, we conclude that:
在一项关于李氏胸切叶蚁蚁群成员间相互识别现象潜在机制的研究框架内，我们进行了两组实验，旨在研究将个体从其蚁群中实验性分离后再重新引入的影响。我们考察了两个参数：分离期的时长以及这些个体在分离期间的社交经历。分别在分离70天和45天后，来自同一蚁群的5只工蚁组成的群体中的工蚁，以及之前被收养到异蚁群中的工蚁，当它们被重新引入自己的蚁群时，遭到了自己姐妹的排斥。此外，我们还研究了根据蚁后是否存在将一个蚁群分成两半对群体凝聚力的影响。经过120天的分离后，一个蚁群的两半不会迅速且毫无攻击性地合并，除非在分离期间每隔15天将唯一的繁殖雌蚁从一个巢穴转移到另一个巢穴。根据所获得的结果，我们得出以下结论：
