Developmental biomechanics and age polyethism in leaf-cutter ants.
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Many social insects display age polyethism: young workers stay inside the nest, and only older workers forage. This behavioural transition is accompanied by genetic and physiological changes, but the mechanistic origin of it remains unclear. To investigate if the mechanical demands on the musculoskeletal system effectively prevent young workers from foraging, we studied the biomechanical development of the bite apparatus in Atta vollenweideri leaf-cutter ants. Fully matured foragers generated peak in vivo bite forces of around 100 mN, more than one order of magnitude in excess of those measured for freshly eclosed callows of the same size. This change in bite force was accompanied by a sixfold increase in the volume of the mandible closer muscle, and by a substantial increase of the flexural rigidity of the head capsule, driven by a significant increase in both average thickness and indentation modulus of the head capsule cuticle. Consequently, callows lack the muscle force capacity required for leaf-cutting, and their head capsule is so compliant that large muscle forces would be likely to cause damaging deformations. On the basis of these results, we speculate that continued biomechanical development post eclosion may be a key factor underlying age polyethism, wherever foraging is associated with substantial mechanical demands.
Date Issued
2023-06-14
Date Acceptance
2023-05-05
Citation
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2023, 290 (2000), pp.1-11
ISSN
0962-8452
Publisher
The Royal Society
Start Page
1
End Page
11
Journal / Book Title
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Volume
290
Issue
2000
Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Authors.
Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37312549
Subjects
Animals
Ants
Biomechanical Phenomena
Bite Force
Gastropoda
Muscles
behavioural development
bite forces
division of labour
social insects
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2023-06-14