Funding for this research was provided by:
national science foundation (IOS 1354291, IOS 1953393)
Article History
Received: 20 July 2021
Revised: 27 December 2021
Accepted: 28 December 2021
First Online: 3 February 2022
Declarations
:
: The authors have no conflicts of interest or competing interests to declare. Colonies were collected in Trinidad in compliance with the laws of Trinidad and Tobago and imported to USA in compliance with the conditions of permit USDA APHIS PPQ526P–12–04067. All ants were housed in conditions promoting colony health with minimal disturbance and varied foraging options. The USDA inspected and approved our containment facility. We collected sufficient samples for study while minimizing impact on colony populations. This study necessitated humanely killing sterile workers by cold anaesthetization to stain and image brains.