One of the most conspicuous and stereotyped activities of social insects such as ants and honey bees is necrophoresis, the removal of dead colony members from the nest. Previous researchers suggested that decomposition products such as fatty acids trigger necrophoric behavior by ant workers. However, fatty acids elicit both foraging and necrophoric responses, depending on the current nest activities (e.g., feeding or nest maintenance). Furthermore, workers often carry even freshly killed workers (dead for <1 h) to refuse piles before significant decomposition has a chance to occur. Here, we show that the cuticular chemistry of Argentine ant workers, Linepithema humile, undergoes rapid changes after death. When the workers are alive or freshly killed, relatively large amounts of 2 characteristic ant-produced compounds, dolichodial and iridomyrmecin, are present on the ants' cuticle. However, these compounds disappear from the cuticle within about 1 h after death. We demonstrate how this phenomenon supports an alternative mechanism of ant necrophoresis in which the precise recognition and rapid removal of dead nestmates are elicited by the disappearance of these chemical signals associated with life.

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are insect parasites used as biological control agents. Free-living infective juveniles (IJs) of EPNs employ host-seeking behaviors to locate suitable hosts for infection. We found that EPNs can differentiate between naïve and infected hosts, and that host attractiveness changes over time in a species-specific manner. We used solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry to identify volatile chemical cues that may relay information about a potential host’s infection status and resource availability. Among the chemicals identified from the headspace of infected hosts, 3-Methyl-2-buten-1-ol (prenol) and 3-Hydroxy-2-butanone (AMC) were selected for further behavioral assays due to their temporal correlation with the behavioral changes of IJs towards the infected hosts. Both compounds were repulsive to IJs of Steinernema glaseri and S. riobrave in a dose-dependent manner when applied on an agar substrate. Furthermore, the repulsive effects of prenol were maintained when co-presented with the uninfected host odors, overriding attraction to uninfected hosts. Prenol was attractive to dauers of some free-living nematodes and insect larvae. These data suggest that host-associated chemical cues may have several implications in EPN biology, not only as signals for avoidance and dispersal of conspecifics, but also as attractants for new potential hosts.

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Selection of oviposition sites by gravid females is a critical behavioral step in the reproductive cycle of Anopheles coluzzii, which is one of the principal Afrotropical malaria vector mosquitoes. Several studies suggest this decision is mediated by semiochemicals associated with potential oviposition sites. To better understand the chemosensory basis of this behavior and identify compounds that can modulate oviposition, we examined the generally held hypothesis that suboptimal larval habitats give rise to semiochemicals that negatively influence the oviposition preference of gravid females. Dual-choice bioassays indicated that oviposition sites conditioned in this manner do indeed foster significant and concentration dependent aversive effects on the oviposition site selection of gravid females. Headspace analyses derived from aversive habitats consistently noted the presence of dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), dimethyl trisulfide (DMTS) and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one (sulcatone) each of which unitarily affected An. coluzzii oviposition preference. Electrophysiological assays across the antennae, maxillary palp, and labellum of gravid An. coluzzii revealed differential responses to these semiochemicals. Taken together, these findings validate the hypothesis in question and suggest that suboptimal environments for An. coluzzii larval development results in the release of DMDS, DMTS and sulcatone that impact the response valence of gravid females.

The collective behavior of ants and the emergence of self-organizing patterns in ant colonies have been explained with various theoretical approaches based on models of trail following behavior elicited by pheromones. Although existing models can explain collective behavior of ants, there is little empirical evidence on how ants precisely respond to various pheromone concentrations. Thus, important knowledge is lacking about how much realistic description of ant behavior can be provided by the models and their underlying mathematical functions. To fill in this gap, we conducted experiments with three different ant species to explore their responses to varying concentrations of pheromones that elicit ants' trail following behavior. We found that ants' decision making processes in trail following are best explained by psychophysical theory (PT), which describes the relationship between physical stimuli, sensory perception and decision making in humans, other primates, birds and insects. Furthermore, the theory provides clear definitions of biological parameters, such as detection-and discrimination thresholds. The species studied were distinctively different in the shape and parameters of their psychometric functions, which we attribute to specific adaptions to their environment. The observed differences are discussed in relation to their natural trail following behaviors. Our study opens a new perspective of understanding and explaining important aspects of collective ant behavior using a wellestablished theory of perception.

Alginate hydrogel beads provided an effective delivery system for liquid baits laced with low concentrations of insecticide to control Argentine ants. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Argentine ant (Linepithema humile) is recognized as one of the world's most damaging invasive species. One reason for the ecological dominance of introduced Argentine ant populations is their ability to dominate food and habitat resources through the rapid mobilization and recruitment of thousands of workers. More than 30 years ago, studies showed that (Z)-9-hexadecenal strongly attracted Argentine ant workers in a multi-choice olfactometer, suggesting that (Z)-9-hexadecenal might be the trail pheromone, or a component of a trail pheromone mixture. Since then, numerous studies have considered (Z)-9-hexadecenal as the key component of the Argentine ant trails. Here, we report the first chemical analyses of the trails laid by living Argentine ants and find that (Z)-9-hexadecenal is not present in a detectible quantity. Instead, two iridoids, dolichodial and iridomyrmecin, appear to be the primary chemical constituents of the trails. Laboratory choice tests confirmed that Argentine ants were attracted to artificial trails comprised of these two chemicals significantly more often than control trails. Although (Z)-9-hexadecenal was not detected in natural trails, supplementation of artificial dolichodial+iridomyrmecin trails with an extremely low concentraion of (Z)-9-hexadecenal did increase the efficacy of the trail-following behavior. In stark contrast with previous dogma, our study suggests that dolichodial and iridomyrmecin are major components of the Argentine ant trail pheromone. (Z)-9-hexadecenal may act in an additive manner with these iridoids, but it does not occur in detectable quantities in Argentine ant recruitment trails.

Five insecticides used by urban pest management professionals for ant control and three experimental insecticides were tested to determine whether these insecticides were horizontally transferred among individuals in colonies of Argentine ants, Linepithema humile (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ants were exposed to insecticide-treated sand for 1 min and then placed in a colony of untreated ants. Ants exposed to 20 and 40 ppm fipronil readily transferred the insecticide to other individuals in the colony, resulting in high mortality. Most of the transfer and subsequent mortality occurred within 4 d after exposure to treated ants. The other insecticides were not transferred, and ants exhibited mortality rates similar to that of the controls. Experiments in large foraging arenas demonstrated that necrophoresis was an important behavior facilitating the horizontal transfer of fipronil. When ants contacted contaminated corpses in the process of removing them to refuse piles, they received a lethal dose of fipronil and subsequently died. Fipronil-contaminated dead ants that were placed in the vicinity of the nest resulted in significantly higher mortality than did corpses placed in a distant foraging arena (30 cm away). Most of the dead ants accumulated in the vicinity of the nest rather than in the foraging arena, workers retrieving dead ants to refuse piles from the foraging arena. The position effect of insecticide-contaminated corpses relative to the nest and its implication for Argentine ant control are discussed.