ArticleFrontiers in zoology2020
The loss of flight in ant workers enabled an evolutionary redesign of the thorax for ground labour.
Article in Frontiers in zoology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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11 citing papers in PubMed, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Same Genes, Different Wings: Wing Shape Divergence Among Castes in a Social Wasp.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- AreCurrent zoology · 2026Article
- The Mesosoma of Protanilla (Leptanillinae) and the Groundplan of the Formicidae (Hymenoptera).Journal of morphology · 2025Article
- Large deformation diffeomorphic mapping of 3D shape variation reveals two distinct mandible and head capsule morphs inEcology and evolution · 2024Article
- Evidence of a thoracic crop in workers, soldiers, and queens of Carebara perpusilla ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae).Die Naturwissenschaften · 2023Article
- Mechanical demands of bite in plane head shapes of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) workers.Ecology and evolution · 2023Article
- Kinematic Modeling at the Ant Scale: Propagation of Model Parameter Uncertainties.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2022Article
- A Roadmap to Reconstructing Muscle Architecture from CT Data.Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2022Article
- Mandibular morphology, task specialization and bite mechanics inJournal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2021Article
- Mandibular muscle troponin of the Florida carpenter ant Camponotus floridanus: extending our insights into invertebrate CaJournal of muscle research and cell motility · 2021Article
- The Pronotum of Worker of Camponotus borellii Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): How Can It Affect Performance of the Head, Work Division, and Development of the Worker Caste?Neotropical entomology · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExplanations for the ecological dominance of ants generally focus on the benefits of division of labour and cooperation during foraging. However, the principal innovation of ants relative to their wasp ancestors was the evolution of a new phenotype: a wingless worker caste optimized for ground labour. Ant workers are famous for their ability to lift and carry heavy loads, but we know surprisingly little about the morphological basis of their strength. Here we examine the consequences of the universal loss of flight in ant workers on skeletomuscular adaptations in the thorax for enhanced foraging on six legs.
resultsUsing X-ray microcomputed tomography and 3D segmentation, we compared winged queens and wingless workers in
conclusionsRather than simply a subtraction of costly flight muscles, we propose the ant worker thorax evolved into a power core underlying stronger mandibles, legs, and sting. This contrasts with solitary flightless insects where the lack of central place foraging generated distinct selective pressures for rearranging the thorax. Stronger emphasis is needed on morphological innovations of social insects to further our understanding of the evolution of social behaviours.
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