The secretions of male accessory glands (MAG) are involved in many processes in insect reproduction including the facilitation, transport, and activation of sperm. They have been shown to alter female behavior and physiology in social insects, potentially increasing a male’s reproductive fitness. Comparative studies of MAG investment in the fungus-gardening ants have revealed that males in species with monandrous queens invest in smaller seminal vesicles and larger accessory glands whereas the opposite is true for species with polyandry, in which males are under stronger selective pressure to engage in sperm competition. The results from these studies suggest that MAG secretions are utilized by males to inhibit further mating by females. (Baer B. 2004. Behav. Ecol.15(3), 426-432; Mikheyev A.S. 2004. J.Insect Sci. 4:37).

Pogonomyrmex seed harvester ants are one of relatively few social hymenopteran genera that exhibit high levels of polyandry. We compared characteristics of the accessory glands of 11 species within the genus Pogonomyrmex relative to body size, including a monandrous species. In our study we find no such association between MAG investment and mating strategy. These results suggest that the secretions of these glands may not be involved in the suppression of polyandry in the genus Pogonomyrmex.