The hallmark of social insects is their caste system: reproduction is primarily monopolized by queens, whereas workers specialize in the other tasks required for colony growth and survival. Pheromones produced by reining queens have long been believed to be the prime factor inhibiting the differentiation of new reproductive individuals. However, there has been very little progress in the chemical identification of such inhibitory pheromones. Here we report the identification of a volatile inhibitory pheromone produced by female neotenics (secondary queens) that acts directly on target individuals to suppress the differentiation of new female neotenics and identify n-butyl-n-butyrate and 2-methyl-1-butanol as the active components of the inhibitory pheromone. An artificial pheromone blend consisting of these two compounds had a strong inhibitory effect similar to live neotenics. Surprisingly, the same two volatiles are also emitted by eggs, playing a role both as an attractant to workers and an inhibitor of reproductive differentiation. This dual production of an inhibitory pheromone by female reproductives and eggs probably reflects the recruitment of an attractant pheromone as an inhibitory pheromone and may provide a mechanism ensuring honest signaling of reproductive status with a tight coupling between fertility and inhibitory power. Identification of a volatile pheromone regulating caste differentiation in a termite provides insights into the functioning of social insect colonies and opens important avenues for elucidating the developmental pathways leading to reproductive and nonreproductive castes.queen pheromone | inhibitory pheromone | social insect | honest signal | egg volatile R eproductive division of labor based on castes is a major transition in the evolution of social insects (1, 2). Regulation of the number of fertile queens requires communication between reproductive and nonreproductive individuals, often through pheromones (3-7). Queens of many social insect species produce a variety of pheromones that profoundly influence the behavior, development, and physiology of colony members. Since the discovery more than 50 y ago of the queen honey bee substance that inhibits the queen rearing behavior of workers (8), there has been very little progress in the chemical identification of inhibitory queen pheromones. In termites, which evolved eusociality independently of Hymenoptera, the existence of queen pheromones inhibiting the differentiation of supplementary queens has been suggested for many decades (5-7), but to date no active compounds have been identified. Although reproductive-specific hydrocarbons (9) and proteinaceous compounds (10) have recently been proposed as possible inhibitory pheromones in termites, there is no evidence of inhibitory effect of either of these classes of compounds.Colonies of termites can contain several types of reproductive individuals, depending on their developmental origin (Fig. S1). Termite colonies are typically founded by a monogamous pair of primary reproduct...

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Identifying traits that facilitate species introductions and successful invasions of ecosystems represents a key issue in ecology. Following their establishment into new environments, many non‐native species exhibit phenotypic plasticity with post‐introduction changes in behaviour, morphology or life history traits that allow them to overcome the presumed loss of genetic diversity resulting in inbreeding and reduced adaptive potential. Here, we present a unique strategy in the invasive ant Brachyponera chinensis (Emery), in which inbreeding tolerance is a pre‐adapted trait for invasion success, allowing this ant to cope with genetic depletion following a genetic bottleneck. We report for the first time that inbreeding is not a consequence of the founder effect following introduction, but it is due to mating between sister queens and their brothers that pre‐exists in native populations which may have helped it circumvent the cost of invasion. We show that a genetic bottleneck does not affect the genetic diversity or the level of heterozygosity within colonies and suggest that generations of sib‐mating in native populations may have reduced inbreeding depression through purifying selection of deleterious alleles. This work highlights how a unique life history may pre‐adapt some species for biological invasions.

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Females that copulated once laid eggs for approximately 40 days, but laid fertilized eggs for approximately the first 20 days only; we believe the sperm were depleted or became inactive. The positive correlation between mating duration and lifetime fecundity (including both fertilized and unfertilized eggs) and rate of oviposition (the number of eggs laid per day) indicated that the seminal substances stimulated female egg production and/or egg laying, and were transferred to females in a time-dependent manner. Males manipulated females by use of seminal substances. Mating duration did not affect female longevity. T. hemipterus males affected female reproductive traits in several ways. These seemingly manipulative substances are likely to be costly to females because they laid unfertilized eggs when sperm were depleted or became inactive.