Myrmecological News 20 77-85 Online Earlier, for print 2014 Reconstructing life history in ants: ergatoid queens, facultative monogyny, and dependent colony foundation in Monomorium algiricum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Christian PEETERS & Alberto TINAUT Abstract Ergatoid (= permanently wingless) queens do not disperse individually from their natal colonies, instead they walk with nestmate workers to new nesting sites during the fission of existing colonies. Very few observations of dependent colony foundation are available, and it must often be studied with indirect data. Thirty-five colonies of Monomorium algiricum (BERNARD, 1955) were excavated at different times of the year. New sexuals (ergatoid queens and males) were found during a short period at the end of summer. Dissection of spermathecae in 331 queens revealed that new gynes mate soon after emergence. Ovarian activity was assessed to distinguish between "old" and newly mated queens. Both monogynous and polygynous colonies were found throughout the year; queens in the latter were less fecund. Sexuals were not produced in some polygynous colonies. The life history of M. algiricum is complex due to interactions be- tween extreme seasonality (no foraging and no egg-laying during six months of the year), coexistence between "old" and newly mated ergatoid queens, and the irregularity inherent to colony fission. Key words: Reproduction, polygyny, seasonality, fission, budding, yellow bodies. Myrmecol. News 20: 77-85 (online xxx 2014) ISSN 1994-4136 (print), ISSN 1997-3500 (online) Received 29 May 2013; revision received 25 November 2013; accepted 25 November 2013 Subject Editor: Chris R. Smith Christian Peeters (contact author), Laboratoire Ecologie & Evolution, CNRS UMR 7625, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 75005, France. E-mail: cpeeters@snv.jussieu.fr Alberto Tinaut, Dept. Zoología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Granada, E-18071 Granada, Spain. E-mail: hormiga@ugr.es Introduction In most ant species, sexuals of both sexes are produced once a year, and dispersal together with mating immedi- ately precedes independent colony foundation (ICF). Many species have shifted away from ICF, and reproductives are totally dependent on nestmate workers to start new colonies (PEETERS & MOLET 2009). This dependent col- ony foundation (DCF, also called fission or budding) im- plies that gynes do not disperse individually; they walk together with workers, hence dispersal is limited. In various species, ergatoid (= permanently wingless) as well as bra- chypterous (= short-winged) queens have completely re- placed winged queens (PEETERS 2012). Generally, there is a dramatic decrease in the number of gynes produced annu- ally, however this is counterbalanced by an increased production of workers needed for just-divided colonies to be autonomous. Founding behaviour and reproductive in- vestment are poorly known in species with ergatoid queens. Unlike the conspicuous dispersal flight of species with winged queens, colonies with ergatoid queens often di- vide unpredictably in time, and it can be difficult to dis- tinguish colony fission from a nest emigration (CRONIN & al. 2013). Gynes mate inside or outside the nests, but it is not always known if this occurs before or after colony di- vision. Since direct observations of DCF are infrequent, re- searchers need to rely on indirect data (CRONIN & al. 2013). If a sufficient sample of colonies are collected throughout the year, comparison of colony sizes may reveal the occur- rence of colony division. An extra layer of complexity is ad- ded in polygynous species, in which different generations of queens can overlap. Since newly produced ergatoid queens remain in their natal colonies, ovarian dissections are re- quired to distinguish them from older queens. Monomorium is a large cosmopolitan genus (384 spe- cies) with surprisingly little published on its reproductive biology, except for the tramp species M. pharaonis (LIN- NAEUS, 1758) (references below). Monomorium algiricum (BERNARD, 1955) (= Epixenus algiricus BERNARD, 1955) is distributed in southern Spain, although specimens have been collected on the other side of the Mediterranean (in and near Algiers, Algeria). Ergatoid queens were reported in both populations (BERNARD 1955, TINAUT & RUANO 1992). In Spain, we collected 35 colonies of M. algiricum during different months over five years, and we dissected all queens to determine monogyny or polygyny, and recon- struct the life history. Material and methods Thirty-five complete nests of Monomorium algiricum were excavated in 2007 - 2012 near Izbor and Lanjarón (Grana- da province), and Sierra Carbonera (Cádiz province), Spain (Tab. 1). Inhabited chambers occurred mostly at a depth of 30 cm, and never deeper than 55 cm. The mountainous ha-