Faculty Opinions recommendation of Genetic diversity, colony chemical phenotype, and nest mate recognition in the ant Formica fusca.

In recognition, discriminators use sensory information to make decisions. For example, honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) entrance guards discriminate between nest-mates and intruders by comparing their odours with a template of the colony odour. Comb wax plays a major role in honeybee recognition. We measured the rejection rates of nest-mate and non-nest-mate worker bees by entrance guards before and after a unidirectional transfer of wax comb from a ‘comb donor’ hive to a ‘comb receiver’ hive. Our results showed a significant effect that occurred in one direction. Guards in the comb receiver hive became more accepting of non-nest-mates from the comb donor hive (rejection decreased from 70 to 47%); however, guards in the comb donor hive did not become more accepting of bees from the comb receiver hive. These data strongly support the hypothesis that the transfer of wax comb increases the acceptance of non-nest-mates not by changing the odour of the bees, but by changing the template used by guards.

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Comb wax mediates the acquisition of nest-mate recognition cues in honey bees

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.85.22.8766 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 85 (22) ◽

pp. 8766-8769 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

M. D. Breed ◽

K. R. Williams ◽

J. H. Fewell

Keyword(s):

Honey Bees ◽

Mate Recognition ◽

Nest Mate ◽

Nest Mate Recognition

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From Insect to Secure: Applying Nest-mate Recognition Approach of Honeybee to Improve Intrusion Detection System

International Journal for Information Security Research ◽

10.20533/ijisr.2042.4639.2015.0071 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 617-624

Author(s):

Ghassan Ahmed Ali

Keyword(s):

Intrusion Detection ◽

Intrusion Detection System ◽

Detection System ◽

Mate Recognition ◽

Nest Mate ◽

Nest Mate Recognition

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Is parasite pressure a driver of chemical cue diversity in ants?

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2010.1047 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 278 (1705) ◽

pp. 496-503 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Stephen J. Martin ◽

Heikki Helanterä ◽

Falko P. Drijfhout

Keyword(s):

Gene Diversity ◽

Cuticular Hydrocarbon ◽

Mate Recognition ◽

Striking Difference ◽

Chemical Cue ◽

Evolutionary Forces ◽

Nest Mate ◽

Formica Fusca ◽

Neutral Gene ◽

The Uk

Parasites and pathogens are possibly key evolutionary forces driving recognition systems. However, empirical evidence remains sparse. The ubiquitous pioneering ant Formica fusca is exploited by numerous socially parasitic ant species. We compared the chemical cue diversity, egg and nest mate recognition abilities in two Finnish and two UK populations where parasite pressure is high or absent, respectively. Finnish populations had excellent egg and nest mate discrimination abilities, which were lost in the UK populations. The loss of discrimination behaviour correlates with a loss in key recognition compounds (C 25 -dimethylalkanes). This was not owing to genetic drift or different ecotypes since neutral gene diversity was the same in both countries. Furthermore, it is known that the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of non-host ant species remain stable between Finland and the UK. The most parsimonious explanation for the striking difference in the cue diversity (number of C 25 -dimethylalkanes isomers) between the UK and Finland populations is the large differences in parasite pressure experienced by F. fusca in the two countries. These results have strong parallels with bird (cuckoo) studies and support the hypothesis that parasites are driving recognition cue diversity.

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