The ant genus Cardiocondyla is characterised by a remarkable variability of reproductive life histories and colony structures. Little is known about the C. stambuloffii group, whose distribution extends from southeast Europe to central and eastern Asia. We here present data on the structure of Cardiocondyla colonies from southern Georgia. Morphometry and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunits I and II indicates that it is distinct from the other species of this group (C. gibbosa, C. koshewnikovi, C. stambuloffii, and C. tibetana). Microsatellite analysis revealed a high nestmate relatedness and frequent inbreeding, matching the observation of exclusively wingless males and the phylogenetic position of the group in the “Palaearctic clade,” in which colonies are typically single-queened.

中文翻译：

---

乔治亚州心髁属（膜翅目：蚁科）蚂蚁的形态测量和菌落结构

蚂蚁属 Cardiocondyla 的特征是生殖生活史和群体结构的显着可变性。人们对 C. stambuloffii 群知之甚少，其分布范围从欧洲东南部延伸到中亚和东亚。我们在此提供有关乔治亚州南部心髁菌落结构的数据。线粒体细胞色素 c 氧化酶亚基 I 和 II 的形态测定和测序表明它不同于该组的其他物种（C. gibbosa、C. koshewnikovi、C. stambuloffii 和 C. tibetana）。微卫星分析揭示了高度的同窝伴侣亲缘关系和频繁的近亲繁殖，这与对无翅雄性的观察以及该群体在“古北进化枝”中的系统发育位置相匹配，其中的群体通常是单后。