Acorn ant exhibits age-dependent induced defence in response to parasitic raids.

Abstract

When risk is unpredictable, organisms may evolve induced defenses, which are activated after an indication of increased risk. In colonies with behavioural specialization, investment in defence may not be uniformly beneficial among group members. Instead, it should depend on the individual's likelihood of participating in defence. The ant Temnothorax longispinosus uses venom to defend against raids by the social parasite Temnothorax americanus. We tested whether T. longispinosus upregulate investment in venom after experiencing a raid, investigating the relationship between venom volume and worker behavioural caste. Overall, raided colonies had more venom per capita than unraided colonies. When divided into behavioural castes, foragers had more venom after experiencing a raid, while nurses did not. These results demonstrate that T. longispinosus have an induced chemical defence against parasitic raids. However, instead of this defence being deployed uniformly among all workers, the induction of the defence depends on the behavioural caste, and therefore age, of the worker, implying that plasticity in venom production increases with age. Since older social insect workers tend to perform riskier tasks, inducibility may align with an increase in expected risk of death, especially if foragers are more likely to defend the colony against parasites than younger workers.