1984] 
Wheeler — Behavior of Procrvptocerus 
18 1 
In ants, polygyny evolves under special ecological conditions, 
such as short-lived nest sites (Holldobler and Wilson, 1977). There- 
fore, it is not a reliable indicator of major phylogenetic trends within 
a group. Apparent polygyny (the presence of multiple dealate 
queens) is scattered throughout the advanced genus Zacryptocerus. 
In Z. texanus, Creighton and Gregg (1954) (see also Creighton, 
1963; Creighton, 1967) found colonies and colony fragments con- 
taining 0- 14.7% queens. In Z. ehristopherseni, I found 13 dealate 
queens in a single colony containing over 4,000 workers and sol- 
diers. In contrast, Z. roxvheri (Creighton and Nutting, 1965), Z. 
pu si 1 1 us (Limongi, 1977), Z. varians (Wilson, 1976), Z. minutus 
(personal observation), as well as Cephalotes atratus (Corn, 1980) 
and Eucrvptocerus placidus (Corn, 1976) are apparently mono- 
gynous. 
Behavior of queens 
Queens performed a total of 298 acts in 9 categories over a period 
of 20 hours (Table 1 ). When data were fitted to a lognormal Poisson 
distribution (Fagen and Goldman, 1977), the true repertoire size of 
queens in a laboratory nest was estimated to be 1 1, with a 95% 
confidence interval of ±3, types of acts. 
The entire repertoire of queerys, with the exception of self- 
grooming, was devoted to eating. Queens solicited and received food 
not only from workers but also from larvae. Queens used antennal 
soliciting movements and licked larvae vigorously around the 
mouth to demand food. This behavior is similar to that described 
for queens of Leptothorax curvispinosus, which solicit labial gland 
secretions from larvae (Wilson, 1974). 
Most of the queens’ infrequent behaviors, shown in Table 1, were 
probably associated with behavioral sequences leading up to 
demanding food from workers or larvae. For example, grooming of 
workers preceded solicitation movements with the antennae. Man- 
ipulation of larvae, moving them into a better position, was a pre- 
lude to solicitation behavior. 
P. scabriusculus queens, which performed acts in 9 behavioral 
categories, were more versatile than queens of Z. varians. In Z. 
varians, queens performed only 3 acts: self-grooming, regurgitating 
with minor workers, and laying eggs (Wilson, 1976; Cole, 1980). 
Outside the Cephalotini, 5 repertoires of queens are available. 
Repertoire size ranges from 5 in Colobopsis sp. (Cole, 1980) and 
