scholarly journals Dufour’s gland analysis reveals caste and physiology specific signals in Bombus impatiens

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan T. Derstine ◽  
Gabriel Villar ◽  
Margarita Orlova ◽  
Abraham Hefetz ◽  
Jocelyn Millar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Bombus Impatiens ◽  
Reproductive Status ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Electroantennogram Recordings ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labor ◽  
Reproductive Division ◽  
Primitively Eusocial

AbstractReproductive division of labor in insect societies is regulated through multiple concurrent mechanisms, primarily chemical and behavioral. Here, we examined if the Dufour’s gland secretion in the primitively eusocial bumble bee Bombus impatiens signals information about caste, social condition, and reproductive status. We chemically analyzed Dufour’s gland contents across castes, age groups, social and reproductive conditions, and examined worker behavioral and antennal responses to gland extracts. We found that workers and queens each possess caste-specific compounds in their Dufour’s glands. Queens and gynes differed from workers based on the presence of diterpene compounds which were absent in workers, whereas four esters were exclusive to workers. These esters, as well as the total amounts of hydrocarbons in the gland, provided a separation between castes and also between fertile and sterile workers. Olfactometer bioassays demonstrated attraction of workers to Dufour’s gland extracts that did not represent a reproductive conflict, while electroantennogram recordings showed higher overall antennal sensitivity in queenless workers. Our results demonstrate that compounds in the Dufour’s gland act as caste- and physiology-specific signals and are used by workers to discriminate between workers of different social and reproductive status.

scholarly journals Dufour’s gland analysis reveals caste and physiology specific signals in Bombus impatiens

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan T. Derstine ◽  
Gabriel Villar ◽  
Margarita Orlova ◽  
Abraham Hefetz ◽  
Jocelyn Millar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Bombus Impatiens ◽  
Reproductive Status ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Electroantennogram Recordings ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labor ◽  
Reproductive Division ◽  
Primitively Eusocial

AbstractReproductive division of labor in insect societies is regulated through multiple concurrent mechanisms, primarily chemical and behavioral. Here, we examined if the Dufour’s gland secretion in the primitively eusocial bumble bee Bombus impatiens signals information about caste, social condition, and reproductive status. We chemically analyzed Dufour’s gland contents across castes, age groups, social and reproductive conditions, and examined worker behavioral and antennal responses to gland extracts.We found that workers and queens each possess caste-specific compounds in their Dufour’s glands. Queens and gynes differed from workers based on the presence of diterpene compounds which were absent in workers, whereas four esters were exclusive to workers. These esters, as well as the total amounts of hydrocarbons in the gland, provided a separation between castes and also between fertile and sterile workers. Olfactometer bioassays demonstrated attraction of workers to Dufour’s gland extracts that did not represent a reproductive conflict, while electroantennogram recordings showed higher overall antennal sensitivity in queenless workers. Our results demonstrate that compounds in the Dufour’s gland act as caste- and physiology-specific signals and are used by workers to discriminate between workers of different social and reproductive status.

Ontogenetic Patterns in Amounts and Proportions of Dufour's Gland Volatile Secretions in Virgin and Nesting Queens of Lasioglossum malachurum (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

1990 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 709-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manfred Ayasse ◽  
Wolf Engels ◽  
Abraham Hefetz ◽  
Gunther Lübke ◽  
Wittko Francke
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Compounds ◽  
Fat Body ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Sweat Bee ◽  
Nest Recognition ◽  
Lasioglossum Malachurum ◽  
Pheromonal Communication ◽  
Main Component ◽  
Primitively Eusocial

Abstract In the primitively eusocial sweat bee, Lasioglossum malachurum, 66 volatile compounds could be identified from queen Dufour’s gland secretions. The patterns found in gynes and in old nesting queens differed in the absolute amounts of extractable volatiles as well as in the relative proportions. 3-Methyl-3-butenyl octadecanoate is the main component in gynes, while 18-octadecanolide, 20-eicosanolide and 22-docosanolide largely dominate the bouquets of old queens. The probable roles of some specific compounds in pheromonal communication of mates and in nest recognition are discussed. Correlations with the volume of the fat body and the vitellogenic status of the ovary are described.

scholarly journals Cooperative policing behavior regulates reproductive division of labor in a termite

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qian Sun ◽  
Jordan D. Hampton ◽  
Kenneth F. Haynes ◽  
Austin Merchant ◽  
Xuguo Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽  
Cooperative Effort ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Coercive Behavior ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labor ◽  
Eastern Subterranean Termite ◽  
Reproductive Conflicts ◽  
Reproductive Division

AbstractReproductive conflicts are common in insect societies where helping castes retain reproductive potential. One of the mechanisms regulating the conflicts is policing, a coercive behavior that reduces direct reproduction by other individuals. In eusocial Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps), workers or the queen act aggressively toward fertile workers, or destroy their eggs. In many termite species (order Blattodea), upon the death of primary queen and king, workers or nymphs can differentiate into neotenic reproductives and inherit the breeding position. During this process, competition among neotenics is inevitable, but how this conflict is resolved remains unclear. Here, we report a policing behavior that regulates reproductive division of labor in the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes. Our results demonstrate that the policing behavior is a cooperative effort performed sequentially by successful neotenics and workers. A neotenic reproductive initiates the attack of the fellow neotenic by biting and displays alarm behavior. Workers are then recruited to cannibalize the injured neotenic. Furthermore, the initiation of policing is age-dependent, with older reproductives attacking younger ones, thereby inheriting the reproductive position. This study provides empirical evidence of policing behavior in termites, which represents a convergent trait shared between eusocial Hymenoptera and Blattodea.

scholarly journals A small family business: synergistic and additive effects of the queen and the brood on worker reproduction in a primitively eusocial bee

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Orlova ◽  
Jesse Starkey ◽  
Etya Amsalem
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Worker Reproduction ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Brain Gene Expression ◽  
Worker Behavior ◽  
Social Species ◽  
Eusocial Bees ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labor ◽  
Reproductive Division ◽  
Primitively Eusocial

AbstractThe mechanisms that maintain reproductive division of labor in social insects are still incompletely understood. Most studies focus on the relationship between adults, overlooking another important stakeholder in the game – the juvenile offspring. Recent studies from various social species show that not only the queen, but also the brood regulates reproductive division of labor between females, but how the two coordinate to maintain reproductive monopoly remained unexplored.Our study aims at disentangling the roles of the brood and the queen in regulating worker reproduction in primitively eusocial bees. We examined the effects induced by the brood and queen, separately and together, on the behavioral, physiological and brain gene expression of Bombus impatiens workers. We found that young larvae induce a releaser effect in workers, decreasing egg laying and aggressive behaviors, while the queen induces both releaser and primer effects, modifying worker aggressive and egg laying behavior and reproductive physiology. The expression of reproduction- and aggression-related genes was altered in the presence of both queen and brood, but the effect was stronger or the same in the presence of the queen.We identified two types of interactions between the queen and the brood in regulating worker reproduction: (1) synergistic interactions regulating worker physiology, where the combined effect of the queen and the brood was greater than each of them separately; (2) additive interactions regulating worker behavior, where the combined effects of the queen and the brood are the gross sum of their separated effects. In these interactions the brood acted in a manner similar to the queen but to a much smaller extent and improved the quality of the effect induced by the queen. Our results suggest that the queen and the brood of primitively eusocial bees coordinate synergistically, additively, and sometimes even redundantly to regulate worker behavior and reproduction, and the interaction between them exists in multiple regulatory levels.

scholarly journals Support for the reproductive ground plan hypothesis in a solitary bee: links between sucrose response and reproductive status

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1847) ◽  
pp. 20162406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen M. Kapheim ◽  
Makenna M. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Reproductive Physiology ◽  
Reproductive Status ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Social Bees ◽  
Ground Plan

In social bees, foraging behaviour is correlated with reproductive status and sucrose sensitivity via endocrine pathways. This association led to the hypothesis that division of labour in social insect societies is derived from an ancestral ground plan that functions to synchronize dietary preferences with reproductive needs in solitary insects. However, the relationship between these traits is unknown for solitary bees, which represent the ancestral state of social bees. We used the proboscis extension response assay to measure sucrose response among reproductive females of the solitary alkali bee ( Nomia melanderi ) as a function of acute juvenile hormone (JH) treatments and reproductive physiology. We also tested long-term effects of JH on reproductive development in newly emerged females. JH did not have short-term effects on reproductive physiology or sucrose response, but did have significant long-term effects on ovary and Dufour's gland development. Dufour's gland size, not ovary development, was a significant predictor of sucrose response. This provides support for the reproductive ground plan hypothesis, because the Dufour's gland has conserved reproductive functions in bees. Differing results from this study and honeybees suggest independent origins of division of labour may have evolved via co-option of different components of a conserved ground plan.

scholarly journals Queen and king recognition in the subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes: Evidence for royal recognition pheromones

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Francis Funaro ◽  
Coby Schal ◽  
Edward L Vargo
Keyword(s):  
Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽  
Subterranean Termite ◽  
Central Feature ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Insect Societies ◽  
Colony Demography ◽  
Queen Recognition ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labor ◽  
Antennal Contact ◽  
Reproductive Division

Royal recognition is a central feature of insect societies, allowing them to maintain the reproductive division of labor and regulate colony demography. Queen recognition has been broadly demonstrated and queen recognition pheromones have been identified in social hymenopterans, but not in termites. Here we describe behaviors that are elicited in workers and soldiers by neotenic queens and kings of the subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, and demonstrate the chemical basis for the behavior. Workers and soldiers readily perform a lateral or longitudinal shaking behavior upon antennal contact with queens and kings. When royal cuticular chemicals are transferred to live workers or inert glass dummies, they elicit antennation and shaking in a dose-dependent manner. The striking response to reproductives and their cuticular extracts suggests that royal-specific cuticular compounds act as recognition pheromones and that shaking behavior is a clear and measurable queen and king recognition response in this termite species.

scholarly journals Chemical Variation among Castes, Female Life Stages and Populations of the Facultative Eusocial Sweat Bee Halictus rubicundus (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris Steitz ◽  
Robert J Paxton ◽  
Stefan Schulz ◽  
Manfred Ayasse
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Communication ◽  
North American ◽  
Specific Chemical ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
Queen Signal ◽  
Ovarian Activation ◽  
Chemical Profiles ◽  
Reproductive Division Of Labor ◽  
Reproductive Division ◽  
Eusocial Species

AbstractIn eusocial insects, chemical communication is crucial for mediating many aspects of social activities, especially the regulation of reproduction. Though queen signals are known to decrease ovarian activation of workers in highly eusocial species, little is known about their evolution. In contrast, some primitively eusocial species are thought to control worker reproduction through physical aggression by the queen rather than via pheromones, suggesting the evolutionary establishment of chemical signals with more derived sociality. However, studies supporting this hypothesis are largely missing. Socially polymorphic halictid bees, such as Halictus rubicundus, with social and solitary populations in both Europe and North America, offer excellent opportunities to illuminate the evolution of caste-specific signals. Here we compared the chemical profiles of social and solitary populations from both continents and tested whether (i) population or social level affect chemical dissimilarity and whether (ii) caste-specific patterns reflect a conserved queen signal. Our results demonstrate unique odor profiles of European and North American populations, mainly due to different isomers of n-alkenes and macrocyclic lactones; chemical differences may be indicative of phylogeographic drift in odor profiles. We also found common compounds overproduced in queens compared to workers in both populations, indicating a potential conserved queen signal. However, North American populations have a lower caste-specific chemical dissimilarity than European populations which raises the question if both use different mechanisms of regulating reproductive division of labor. Therefore, our study gives new insights into the evolution of eusocial behavior and the role of chemical communication in the inhibition of reproduction.

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