Social and Spatial Organization of Dolichoderus quadripunctatus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Colonies in Forests, Urban Habitats, and Supercolonial Systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v73i3.13050Keywords:
supercolony, polydomy, foraging trails, interspecific competition, native supercolonialityAbstract
Supercoloniality is characterized by vast, interconnected nest networks that lack territorial aggression, a pattern typical of many invasive ants. However, its occurrence and adaptive significance in native species remain poorly understood. Here, we examine the context-dependent shift from small, competition-limited colonies in forests to expansive supercolonies in human-modified habitats using the arboreal ant Dolichoderus quadripunctatus as a model. We tested three hypotheses: (H1) interspecific competition and limited inter-tree connectivity constrain abundance in closed-canopy forests and urban tree stands; (H2) internal foraging-trail networks, rather than substrate or competition, drive colony size in supercolonies and large polycalic systems; and (H3) supercolonial systems exhibit fission – fusion dynamics, enabling demographic recovery after severe crashes while maintaining the relationship between trail length and abundance. From 2024 to 2025, we surveyed 224 trees in urban and forest habitats in Ukraine, combining these data with a decade-long (2015-2025) monitoring study of one supercolony and one large polycalic settlement. Forest and urban colonies were oligodomic and limited by competition with Lasius niger and L. emarginatus, as well as by poor tree connectivity. In contrast, foraging-trail count was the dominant predictor of worker abundance in supercolonial and polycalic systems throughout the study period (rate ratios 1.93–2.41). The supercolony collapsed by over 90% between 2015 and 2024, but partially recovered in 2025; walnut trees acted as persistent refugia in this case. Thus, D. quadripunctatus shows that native supercoloniality can emerge through behavioral infrastructure (trail networks) when ecological constraints are relaxed, offering a rare link between classic polydomy and invasion-driven unicoloniality.
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