Effects of genetic relatedness, spatial distance, and context on intraspecific aggression in the red wood ant Formica pratensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

In the present study, we tested the level of aggression of monodomous and polydomous colonies of the wood ant Formica pratensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with a behavioral assay in nature and laboratory conditions to see if the ants from neighboring colonies are more tolerant or more aggressive to each other than those from greater distances. We also tested how context (nature and laboratory conditions) affected aggression. Our results showed that the monodomous colonies were highly aggressive to all neighboring or nonneighboring conspecifics in nature irrespective of the spatial distance.