Insect chemical communication: Pheromones and exocrine glands of ants

Jackson, Brian D.; Morgan, E. David

doi:10.1007/bf01256548

Cited by 78 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 224 publications

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“…In ants, the outcome of group conflicts is often resolved through recognition of deviant phenotypes and communication. As ants rely on their chemical recognition system to identify opponents and also utilize chemical cues for (indirect) communication (Jackson and Morgan 1993), T. pilagens circumvents detection and hence aggressive conflicts during raids through chemical similarity, contrary to related slavemakers, with whom T. pilagens even shares its hosts. Avoiding escalation of the raiding interactions apparently allows the slavemaker to manipulate adult host workers into enslavement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The placid slavemaker: avoiding detection and conflict as an alternative, peaceful raiding strategy

Kleeberg

Foitzik

2015

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Host entry is a crucial step in a parasite's life cycle. When parasites manage to circumvent host detection, exploitation of host resources is facilitated, as host defenses have not to be counteracted. Social parasites exploit animal societies and, likewise, detection avoidance can be beneficial. Yet, due to strong selection pressures, hosts of socially parasitic slavemaking ants often recognize them as enemies, so that slavemakers use open force to raid host colonies. These fights, however, prohibit the enslavement of adult host workers (eudulosis), which cannot be manipulated to work for them. Instead, they steal brood during raids, and enslave those upon emergence. In contrast to the violent raids of most slavemakers, no aggression occurs during most of the raids of the newly described slavemaker Temnothorax pilagens. Thereby, T. pilagens regularly induces adult host workers to be part of their slave workforce. We demonstrate that nonenslaved colonies of its host species respond to this slavemaker with little aggression. We further investigate how the slavemaker circumvents recognition and show that chemical resemblance of host profiles might explain the low aggressive responses. But, which parameters determine whether slave raids escalate, resulting in carnage among defenders? Our experiments reveal that host aggression is counterproductive as aggressive host colonies suffer from more fatalities during raids, but cannot save more brood. The slavemaker, however, benefits from not eliciting fights, as it doubles its enslaved workforce by capturing brood plus adult host workers. Hence, undercutting recognition allows the slavemaker to avoid raid escalation with its associated fitness benefits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The placid slavemaker: avoiding detection and conflict as an alternative, peaceful raiding strategy

Kleeberg

Foitzik

2015

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…In distinct contrast to previous hypotheses, our results demonstrate that the decrease in chemical compounds associated with living ants, rather than an increase in compounds associated with decomposition of dead ants, is the crucial cue that elicits necrophoric behavior. Dolichodial and iridomyrmecin are produced and stored in the pygidial gland of L. humile (15,16), and this gland occurs in all ant subfamilies except the Formicinae, where it may have been lost secondarily (17,18). Volatile chemicals produced by the pygidial glands of dolichoderine and myrmicine ants are commonly thought to have alarm or defensive functions (19)(20)(21), and the less volatile constituents such as iridodials, dolichodials, and related compounds were assumed to retard the evaporation of the more volatile repellent constituents (18,20) or to act as viscous defensive agents (20)(21)(22).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical signals associated with life inhibit necrophoresis in Argentine ants

Choe

Millar

Rust

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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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.

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“…We have identified four glands in P. longicornis as sources of pheromones with different effects, a rather complex chemical communication system compared to that of other formicines studied so far (Billen and Morgan 1998;Jackson and Morgan 1993;Vander Meer and Alonso 1998). Only the rectum was previously known to contain a trail pheromone in P. longicornis (Blum and Wilson 1964;Gabba and Pavan 1970), an activity which we have confirmed in our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, in this study we investigated how P. longicornis uses chemical communication to coordinate its outstandingly efficient, and highly collective opportunistic behavior and how its communication system compares to those of other formicine ants. In the subfamily Formicinae, the rectum is commonly described as the source of trail pheromones Billen and Morgan (1998;Jackson and Morgan 1993;Vander Meer and Alonso 1998). Furthermore, alarm pheromones are located in poison sacs, Dufour glands and mandibular glands of formicine ants (Hölldobler and Wilson 1990;Wilson and Regnier 1971).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complex chemical communication in the crazy ant Paratrechina longicornis Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

2007

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The formicine ant Paratrechina longicornis is known for its extremely opportunistic foraging behaviour. Only a single trail pheromone source, the rectum, was previously described from this ant. Our detailed examination of this ant's chemical communication system revealed the presence of at least four sources of pheromones. Rectum, poison sac, and Dufour gland contain orientation components with decreasing effectiveness and persistence (in the sequence mentioned) as well as attractants with increasing effectiveness. Furthermore, the mandibular gland contains repellents, and a releaser of defensive behaviour. This set of various signals of different strength and persistence allows an extraordinary degree of flexibility and efficiency in the collective behaviour of P. longicornis, especially food exploitation, and thus may contribute to this insect's overall ecological success.

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Insect chemical communication: Pheromones and exocrine glands of ants

Cited by 78 publications

References 224 publications

The placid slavemaker: avoiding detection and conflict as an alternative, peaceful raiding strategy

The placid slavemaker: avoiding detection and conflict as an alternative, peaceful raiding strategy

Chemical signals associated with life inhibit necrophoresis in Argentine ants

Complex chemical communication in the crazy ant Paratrechina longicornis Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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