Ant colony

Super colonies arise in ants ( Formicidae ) from the merger of similar type of individual colonies with a clear delineation of kinship. Normally, fight foreign ant colonies to make the investment in survival and offspring of their own colony accessible to non- foreign colonies. In this case, it appears to a certain degree as the desirability of the costs of an aggressive behavior into account. These costs arise from, among other things, from the loss of workers in fighting between colony alien individuals. Partly also own colony individuals are recognized as foreign and killed. The need for major investment in aggression is probably the key factor that leads to the merger of ant colonies, because a loss can be as aggression accompanied by a fitness benefits over other types.

In the super colony genetic peculiarities of the original foreign colonies are lost - which is trying to prevent the normal case. Exactly how and when an ant colony of aggressive " switches " on peaceful, is a focus of studies on eusocial Hymenoptera. The questions are not yet fully understood. The problem are the anthropogenic disappearances of species that can form super colonies. This can very quickly become environmental pests in the new settlement area. An exploration, environmental conditions under which the ants switch from aggressive to peaceful, could be the decisive step to combat it.

There is at least one kind - Lasius austriacus in Lower Austria - although does not show aggressive behavior within their own kind and therefore can also be mixed with other similar types of colonies live, but still maintains high phylogenetic diversity within the colonies. By definition this type, therefore, forms no super colonies, it is for the study of aggression loss but of paramount importance.