@article{3307, author = "Tarcisio Marcos Macedo Mota Filho and Ramon De Marchi Garcia and Roberto da Silva Camargo and Luis Eduardo Pontes Stefanelli and Luiz Carlos Forti", abstract = "Nest foundation in Atta leaf-cutting ants is claustral, and the single founding queen completely relies on its body reserves throughout several weeks until the first workers emerge and initiate foraging. However, little is known about the founding queens under laboratory conditions. In this study, we determine the survival of mated females of Atta sexdens. In addition, we observed an unusual behavior of these queens. Newly-deposited eggs were already present in the first week after nuptial flight. Larvae were observed from the fourth week onwards, and pupae from the sixth week. The workers emerged in the eighth and ninth week, when the weekly observed. Survival decreased markedly in the first week after nest founding, averaging 65,47%, and continued decreasing over the 11-week period of observations until a minimal value of 42,26%. Another interesting result was in the 10th week, when plants were offered, some queens exhibited unusual behavior, in which it cut and chewed small leaf pieces. Our study contributes to knowledge of the founding queens under laboratory conditions.", issn = "23191473", journal = "IJAIR", keywords = "Leaf-Cutting Ants;Nest Founding;Nuptial Flight", month = "March", number = "5", pages = "352-357", title = "{O}bservations about {F}ounding {Q}ueens ({A}tta sexdens) and their {U}nusual {B}ehavior", volume = "9", year = "2021", }