Field survey of a monogynous leptothoracine ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): Evidence of seasonal polydomy?

484 nests of Leptothorax tuberointerruptus were collected from a coastal limestone grassland community in Dorset, England, over a 16 month period from February 1992 to May 1993. Behavioural observations and dissections of females strongly suggested that the nests were obligately monogynous. Electrophoretic data also suggested that within most nests all the workers shared the same mother and father. Counts of nest contents revealed temporary but dramatic drops in both worker and queen numbers per nest in May-June 1992. Seasonal polydomy is postulated to be the cause of this variation. Such dramatic variation highlights the importance of sampling over as much space and time as possible if premature conclusions about colony demography are to be avoided.