J. Oettler

The paper identifies three phenotypic entities in ant embryos, including 'neuters', and proposes that haplodiploidy enables a third dimension on the sex continuum in Cardiocondyla obscurior.

This study investigates the effects of juvenile hormone treatment on caste development in Cardiocondyla obscurior ants, finding no impact on female caste ratios or body sizes but increased male size.

This study shows that workers and queens of Cardiocondyla obscurior ants age at the same rate and shape, challenging the idea that worker lifespan is shorter due to their sterile status.

The paper shows that queens control caste allocation in Cardiocondyla obscurior, with caste fate determined irreversibly in the egg stage and no caste-specific traits in late development.

The paper shows that ants avoid senescence by increasing late-life reproduction, which maintains selection strength and counteracts the selection shadow.

The paper analyzes gene co-expression networks in old ant queens to identify anti-ageing mechanisms and finds increased transcriptional regulation and strong purifying selection on key genes.

The paper identifies cytoplasmic incompatibility between Old and New World populations of Cardiocondyla obscurior ants, revealing a symbiont-induced reproductive isolation mechanism.