Scientific Contribution
Opportunistic extranidal feeding of dealate queens at artificial sugar baits in the polygynous ant Plagiolepis pygmaea (Latreille, 1798) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Tomás Pinto, Juan Pascual-Gil
In eusocial Hymenoptera, mature queens are typically confined to nest chambers, relying on worker trophallaxis for nutrition. Direct surface foraging or feeding at food sources by established queens is an unusual occurrence. This work documents a field observation of two dealate queens of Plagiolepis pygmaea (Latreille, 1798) actively feeding alongside workers at an artificial sucrose bait. Given the highly polygynous and polydomous social structure of P. pygmaea, we discuss two main ethological hypotheses to explain this behaviour: (1) opportunistic refuelling by queens during inter-nest migration or colony budding, and (2) extranidal foraging performed by unmated, reproductive-suppressed dealate queens displaying behavioural plasticity. This record provides insight into the behavioural flexibility of queens in polygynous ant species and highlights the relevance of queen presence when interpreting baitbased ecological sampling