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.

家蚁 Temnothorax albipennis 的工蚁在穿越崎岖环境时，依赖视觉边缘跟随和地标识别来导航，并在探索未知巢穴时展现出向左转向的倾向。本研究利用电子显微镜计数工蚁、雄蚁和蚁后的复眼中的感光细胞数量（ommatidia），以对相对采样分辨率进行近似评估；并确定构成工蚁眼睛感光细胞数量的不对称性，这可能为转向偏差提供可观察的、机制上的解释。我们假设，即使在左右眼的相对视觉敏锐度之间存在微小的差异，也可能通过发育经验放大，形成一种打破对称性的转向偏好，导致较弱的眼睛指向墙壁。共检查了五十六只工蚁：45%的工蚁右眼拥有更多的感光细胞，36%的工蚁左眼拥有更多，20%的工蚁左右眼感光细胞数量相等。在成像前对行为侧向化的评估更加明确，并建议进行更大规模的样本研究以进一步探究。在蚁后和雄蚁之间，感光细胞数量的性别二型性十分明显。