Characterization of a Brood Pheromone Isolated from the Sexual Brood of the Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta1,2

Bigley, Walter S.; Vinson, S. Bradleigh

doi:10.1093/aesa/68.2.301

Cited by 36 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…Although there has been conflicting evidence regarding the role of queen pheromones on nestmate recognition cues (e. g. Ichinose, 1991;Boulay et al, 2003;Vander Meer and Alonso, 2002), in L. humile, queen pheromones appear to play an insignificant role on aggressive behaviour, at least over the short-term (Caldera and Holway, 2004). Brood, like queens, also emit distinct pheromones in some ant species (Bigley and Vinson, 1975;Zimmerli and Mori, 1993;Mori et al, 1996), however investigations into the influence of brood pheromones on worker behaviour have only recently begun. In bees, brood pheromones stimulate workers to perform particular tasks, including increasing a worker's foraging effort (e. g. Pankiw and Rubink, 2002;Pankiw and Page, 2003;Pankiw 2004).…”

Section: Nest Collection and Maintenancementioning

confidence: 99%

Food availability and brood number do not influence intraspecific aggression in Argentine ants

et al. 2005

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Nestmate recognition cues can derive from both environmental and genetic factors, but can also be modulated in response to context-specific cues. Synchronous changes in nestmate recognition systems occur seasonally in some species of ants, however the mechanisms underlying these seasonal changes are often unknown. We studied two mechanisms, relative brood number and food availability, to determine if they generate temporal variation in intraspecific aggression in an introduced population of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile. Using data from previous studies we found that seasonal increases in aggression levels correlate with seasonal increases in brood-to-worker ratios in the field. However, when we manipulated brood-to-worker ratios in paired experimental colonies, we found no direct evidence that relative brood numbers influenced aggression levels. To determine if food availability influenced aggression we conducted a second experiment in which we randomly assigned pairs of experimental colonies to starved or fed treatments and then measured aggression levels weekly for five weeks. We observed no difference in the level of aggression between these two treatment groups indicating that food availability also has no affect on aggression levels between hostile conspecific colonies.

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Section: Nest Collection and Maintenancementioning

confidence: 99%

Food availability and brood number do not influence intraspecific aggression in Argentine ants

et al. 2005

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“…The type of food used as a control also presents problems. For example, the food value of a soybean oil control (Glancey et al 1970, Bigley & Vinson 1975 is not similar to the food value of extracted brood. Extracted brood contains a complex mixture of lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, etc., whereas soybean oil contains mostly triglycerides.…”

Section: Problems In Demonstratingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Behavioral responses to these fire ant pheromones are obtained with one or fewer body-equivalents. Consequently, serious questions arise when investigations of a brood pheromone require w hole-bod y extracts or a large number of brood or both to elicit worker responses (Glancey et al 1970, Bigley & Vinson 1975, Glancey & Dickens 1988. The last-named authors showed that 500 larva equivalents were required for a positive worker response in a "spot" bioassay (aggregation), and 300 living larvae were required for a positive response in an olfactometer.…”

Section: Problems In Demonstratingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the most frustrating inadequacies in many brood pheromone papers (Watkins & Cole 1966, Glancey et al 1970, Bigley & Vinson 1975, LaMon & Topoff 1985 is the lack of information regarding the brood equivalents of the extracts and amount of the control substances used in bioassays. Without this information, it is impossible to determine if a pheromonal response is being tested.…”

Section: Problems In Demonstratingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Without this information, it is impossible to determine if a pheromonal response is being tested. Glancey et al (1970) and Bigley & Vinson (1975) used extracts of crushed immatures; yet discrimination cues such as a brood recognition pheromone are most likely to be found on the cuticular surface rather than within the body (Wilson 1971 (see Vander Meer [1983] and Vander Meer & Morel [1988] for details).…”

Section: Problems In Demonstratingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do Ant Brood Pheromones Exist?

Morel¹,

Meer²

1988

Annals of the Entomological Society of America

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A brood pheromone is a chemical or mixture of chemicals released by immature stages that elicits a behavioral response in conspecific adults. The current literature devoted to brood pheromones in several ant species does not prove the existence of such a pheromone or even of brood-specific chemicals. The possibility of a food response or a nestmate recognition response, two of the most confounding factors, has not been eliminated. Two alternative hypotheses involving brood behavior, morphology, cuticular chemicals, and associative learning are proposed.

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Social facilitation of eclosion in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

LaMon

Topoff

1985

Developmental Psychobiology

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In colonies of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, eclosion is facilitated by adult workers which strip away and consume the pupal cuticle. This stage-specific social interaction involves chemical stimuli which are present at the onset of eclosion, concurrent with the initiation of gross movements and separation of the pupal cuticle. Fire ant workers retrieved inanimate objects treated with an extract of eclosing pupae and placed them in the colony brood chamber with the appropriate age group where they were tended by several workers. The facilitation of eclosion by adult colony members appears to be an obligatory process in the development of this species; pupae denied the aid of adult workers during eclosion are unable to remove the pupal cuticle and rapidly succumb.

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Characterization of a Brood Pheromone Isolated from the Sexual Brood of the Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta1,2

Cited by 36 publications

References 0 publications

Food availability and brood number do not influence intraspecific aggression in Argentine ants

Food availability and brood number do not influence intraspecific aggression in Argentine ants

Do Ant Brood Pheromones Exist?

Social facilitation of eclosion in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta

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