Dufour’s Gland Composition in the Desert Ant Cataglyphis: Species Specificity and Population Differences

1992 ◽  
Vol 47 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 285-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abraham Hefetz ◽  
Alain Lenoir
Keyword(s):  
Related Species ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Species Specificity ◽  
Gland Secretion ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Population Differences ◽  
Desert Ant ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretion

Abstract Dufour’s gland secretion of several species of the desert ant Cataglyphis from different geographical localities was analyzed. The secretions constituted mostly of alkanes ranging from undecane to nonadecane. Species specificity is expressed as variations in the major component as well as the relative intensities of the additional constituents. Phylogenetically related species that are allopatric exhibited similar secretory composition whereas their sympatric counterparts had disparate composition, suggesting that character displacement occurred. Analyses of colonies of C. cursor from different localities also showed divergence in their glandular composition.

Species specificity and complexity of Dufour's gland secretion of bumble bees

1991 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 641-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Tengö ◽  
Abraham Hefetz ◽  
Andreas Bertsch ◽  
Ulrich Schmitt ◽  
Gunther Lübke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Specificity ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Gland Secretion ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretion

Species and Sex Specificity in the Odour Composition of Two Panurgine Bees (Hymenoptera, Andrenidae)

1987 ◽  
Vol 42 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 169-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Francke ◽  
W. Schröder ◽  
A. K. Borg-Karlsson ◽  
G. Bergström ◽  
J. Tengö
Keyword(s):  
Macrocyclic Lactone ◽  
Gland Secretion ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Solitary Bee ◽  
Aliphatic Carboxylic Acid ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretion ◽  
Sex Specificity ◽  
Cephalic Secretion ◽  
Acid Esters

Abstract From the volatile constituents of the solitary bee species Panurgus banksianus Kirby and P. calcaratus Scopuli 31 compounds could be identified. The cephalic secretion of P. banksianus is a sex specific m ulticomponent mixture of terpenes and aliphatic carboxylic acid esters while P. calcaratus contains monoterpenes only. The major component in the Dufour’s gland secretion of P. banksianus is a macrocyclic lactone, eicosanolide, which is absent in P. calcaratus. In contrast, the new terpenoid ester, geranyl citronellate, is present in large amounts in the Dufour’s gland secretion of P. calcaratus.

scholarly journals Reproductive competition in the bumble-bee Bombus terrestris: do workers advertise sterility?

2009 ◽  
Vol 276 (1660) ◽  
pp. 1295-1304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etya Amsalem ◽  
Robert Twele ◽  
Wittko Francke ◽  
Abraham Hefetz
Keyword(s):  
Unusual Case ◽  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Gland Secretion ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Reproductive Competition ◽  
High Ester ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretion ◽  
Compositional Changes

Reproductive competition in social insects is generally mediated through specific fertility pheromones. By analysing Dufour's gland secretion in queens and workers of Bombus terrestris under varying social conditions, we demonstrate here that the volatile constituents of the secretion exhibit a context-dependent composition. The secretion of egg-laying queens is composed of a series of aliphatic hydrocarbons (alkanes and alkenes), while that of sterile workers contains in addition octyl esters, dominated by octyl hexadecanoate and octyl oleate. These esters disappear in workers with developed ovaries, whether queenright (QR) or queenless (QL), rendering their secretion queen-like. This constitutes an unusual case in which the sterile caste, rather than the fertile one, possesses extra components. Individually isolated (socially deprived) workers developed ovaries successfully, but failed to oviposit, and still possessed the octyl esters. Thus, whereas social interactions are not needed in order to develop ovaries, they appear essential for oviposition and compositional changes in Dufour's gland secretion (ester disappearance). The apparent link between high ester levels and an inability to lay eggs lends credence to the hypothesis that these esters signal functional sterility. We hypothesize that by producing a sterility-specific secretion, workers signal that ‘I am out of the competition’, and therefore are not attacked, either by the queen or by the reproductive workers. This enables proper colony function and brood care, in particular sexual brood, even under the chaotic conditions of the competition phase.

Dufour's gland secretion of the queen honeybee ( Apis mellifera ): an egg discriminator pheromone or a queen signal?

2001 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamar Katzav-Gozansky ◽  
Fernando Ibarra ◽  
Wittko Francke ◽  
Abraham Hefetz ◽  
Victoria Soroker
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Gland Secretion ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Queen Signal ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretion ◽  
Queen Honeybee

Adnexal Glands Chemistry of Messor ebeninus Forel (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

1987 ◽  
Vol 42 (9-10) ◽  
pp. 1027-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Coll ◽  
A . Hefetz ◽  
H. A . Lloyd
Keyword(s):  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Poison Gland ◽  
Aliphatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
Gland Secretion ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Volatile Product ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Alarm Behavior ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretion

Abstract Anabasine is the major volatile product in the poison gland exudate of Messor ebeninus, acting as a defensive compound. Exudates of the poison gland also contain minor, yet unidentified, components that are possibly responsible for the alarm behavior that is also elicited by the venom. Dufour’s gland secretion is characterized by aliphatic hydrocarbons of which 1-pentadecene predominates. Upon exposure to Dufour’s gland secretion the ants recruited to the emitting source, but did not exhibit any aggressive behavior. The possible concordant effects of both adnexal glands secretions is discussed.

Dufour’s gland secretion, sterility and foraging behavior: Correlated behavior traits in bumblebee workers

2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (12) ◽  
pp. 1250-1255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etya Amsalem ◽  
Hagai Shpigler ◽  
Guy Bloch ◽  
Abraham Hefetz
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Gland Secretion ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretion

Macrocyclic lactones and isopentenyl esters in the Dufour's gland secretion of halictine bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae)

1981 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Duffield ◽  
A. Fernandes ◽  
C. Lamb ◽  
J. W. Wheeler ◽  
G. C. Eickwort
Keyword(s):  
Gland Secretion ◽  
Dufour's Gland ◽  
Dufour’S Gland ◽  
Macrocyclic Lactones ◽  
Dufour's Gland Secretion ◽  
Halictine Bees
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