My research focuses on the mating event in ants and on phenomena that surround it. For a scientist, the mating event is very interesting because it involves two genetically different organisms that have to cooperate to obtain offspring and pass on their genes to next generations. Being genetically different means not having the exact same interests, and that's where conflicts start. A simple example: males normally try to monopolize their female(s) because sharing them with another male means losing paternity over a part of the female's offspring. The females on the other hand can profit from mating with several males. In ants for example, queens need enough sperm to fertilize their eggs and create a big colony. Queens could also benefit from a genetically more diverse (with multiple fathers) workforce: higher genetic diversity lowers the vulnerability to parasites and diseases; higher genetic diversity also lowers the worker-worker relatedness, thereby reducing queen-worker conflict over sex allocation and male parentage. All this means conflict between male and female over the number of partners of the female! The above mentioned traits of ant reproductive biology, and many others, make them a fascinating group to study.

In my research, I use a variety of different techniques (histological sectioning, behavioral experiments, sperm counting, .) to get a comprehensive picture of ant mating biology.

Allard D., Van Hulle M., J. Billen & B. Gobin (2008) Multiply mating males in Gnamptogenys striatula Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Journal of Insect Behavior 89: 201-204.

Allard D., Gobin B. & Billen J. (2007) Timing of sperm transfer in Diacamma pallidum. Physiological Entomology 32: 382-387.

Allard D. (2006) Sexual selection and reproductive conflicts in ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). PhD thesis, University of Leuven.

Allard D., Børgesen L., Van Hulle M., Bobbaers A., Billen J. & Gobin B. (2006) Sperm transfer during mating in the pharaoh's ant Monomorium pharaonis. Physiological Entomology 31:294-298. 

Allard D., Ito F., Gobin B., Tsuji K. & Billen J. (2005) Differentiation of the reproductive tract between dominant and subordinate workers in the Japanese queenless ant Diacamma sp. Acta Zoologica 86:159-166.

Johnson C.A., Lommelen E., Allard D. & Gobin B. (2003) The emergence of collective foraging in the arboreal Gnamptogenys menadensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Naturwissenschaften 90: 332-336.

Allard D., Gobin B., Ito F., Tsuji K. & Billen J. (2002) Sperm transfer in the Japanese queenless ant Diacamma sp. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Netherlands Journal of Zoology 52: 77-86.