Data for: Asymmetric ommatidia count and behavioural lateralization in the ant Temnothorax albipennis

Workers of the house-hunting ant Temnothorax albipennis rely on visual edge following and landmark recognition to navigate their rocky environment, and they also exhibit a leftward turning bias when exploring unknown nest sites. We used electron microscopy to count the number of ommatidia composing the compound eyes of workers, males and queens, to make an approximate assessment of their relative sampling resolution; and to establish whether there is an asymmetry in the number of ommatidia composing the workers’ eyes, which might provide an observable, mechanistic explanation for the turning bias. We hypothesise that even small asymmetries in relative visual acuity between left and right eyes could be magnified by developmental experience into a symmetry-breaking turning preference that results in the inferior eye pointing toward the wall. Fifty-six workers were examined: 45% had more ommatidia in the right eye, 36% more in the left, and 20% an equal number. A tentative connection between relative ommatidia count for each eye and turning behaviour was identified, with a stronger assessment of behavioural lateralization before imaging and a larger sample suggested for further work. There was a clear sexual dimorphism in ommatidia counts between queens and males.

迁巢蚁（Temnothorax albipennis）的工蚁依靠视觉边缘追踪与地标识别，在多岩石的栖息环境中完成导航，且在探索未知巢址时，会表现出向左转向的偏好。本研究采用电子显微镜技术，计数工蚁、雄蚁及蚁后复眼（compound eyes）的小眼（ommatidia）数量，以近似评估三者的相对采样分辨率，并验证工蚁复眼小眼数量是否存在不对称性——该不对称性或可为其转向偏好提供可观测的机制性解释。我们提出假说：左右眼相对视敏度的微小差异，可通过发育经历被放大为打破对称的转向偏好，最终使视力较弱的一侧眼睛朝向墙面。本次研究共检测56只工蚁：其中45%的个体右眼小眼数量更多，36%的个体左眼小眼数量更多，剩余20%的个体双眼小眼数量相等。本研究发现工蚁双眼小眼相对数量与转向行为之间存在初步关联；后续研究建议优化成像前的行为偏侧化评估方案，并扩大样本量。此外，蚁后与雄蚁的小眼数量存在显著的性二态性。