ABSTRACT
Colony foundation requires more complex behaviors and more intensive investment by the mother queen of Atta leafcutting ants than by any other ant species. The newly inseminated queen must establish and nurture a fungus culture, in addition to rearing her own offspring, without recourse to an external food source. It is not surprising that Atta queens are among the largest ants known, only exceeded by some doryline driver ant queens. This paper reviews certain dynamics of colony foundation in three Atta species specifically: female initial weight, weight loss and investment during laboratory colony foundation, and productivity, survivorship and success. Results of the lab work illuminate optimal alternative strategies for independent or cooperative colony foundation in A. texana, A. mexicana, and A. cephalotes in the field.
