scholarly journals Experimental modulation of external microbiome affects nestmate recognition in harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex barbatus)

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Dosmann ◽  
Nassim Bahet ◽  
Deborah M. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Cuticular Hydrocarbons ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Topical Application ◽  
Nestmate Recognition ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Harvester Ants ◽  
Pogonomyrmex Barbatus ◽  
Microbial Cultures ◽  
Observed Behavior

Social insects use odors as cues for a variety of behavioral responses, including nestmate recognition. Past research on nestmate recognition indicates cuticular hydrocarbons are important nestmate discriminators for social insects, but other factors are likely to contribute to colony-specific odors. Here we experimentally tested whether external microbes contribute to nestmate recognition in red harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex barbatus). We changed the external microbiome of ants through topical application of either antibiotics or microbial cultures. We then observed behavior of nestmates when treated ants were returned to the nest. Ants whose external microbiome was augmented with microbial cultures were much more likely to be rejected than controls, but ants treated with antibiotics were not. This result is consistent with the possibility that external microbes are used for nestmate recognition.

scholarly journals The Scent of Ant Brood: Caste Differences in Surface Hydrocarbons of Formica exsecta Pupae

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Unni Pulliainen ◽  
Nick Bos ◽  
Patrizia d’Ettorre ◽  
Liselotte Sundström
Keyword(s):  
Surface Chemistry ◽  
Chemical Communication ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbons ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Pupal Stage ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Chemical Stimuli ◽  
Caste Differences ◽  
Long Chain

AbstractChemical communication is common across all organisms. Insects in particular use predominantly chemical stimuli in assessing their environment and recognizing their social counterparts. One of the chemical stimuli used for recognition in social insects, such as ants, is the suite of long-chain, cuticular hydrocarbons. In addition to providing waterproofing, these surface hydrocarbons serve as a signature mixture, which ants can perceive, and use to distinguish between strangers and colony mates, and to determine caste, sex, and reproductive status of another individual. They can be both environmentally and endogenously acquired. The surface chemistry of adult workers has been studied extensively in ants, yet the pupal stage has rarely been considered. Here we characterized the surface chemistry of pupae of Formica exsecta, and examine differences among sexes, castes (reproductive vs. worker), and types of sample (developing individual vs. cocoon envelope). We found quantitative and qualitative differences among both castes and types of sample, but male and female reproductives did not differ in their surface chemistry. We also found that the pupal surface chemistry was more complex than that of adult workers in this species. These results improve our understanding of the information on which ants base recognition, and highlights the diversity of surface chemistry in social insects across developmental stages.

scholarly journals The Importance of Methyl-Branched Cuticular Hydrocarbons for Successful Host Recognition by the Larval Ectoparasitoid Holepyris sylvanidis

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1032-1046
Author(s):  
Sarah Awater-Salendo ◽  
Hartwig Schulz ◽  
Monika Hilker ◽  
Benjamin Fürstenau
Keyword(s):  
Cuticular Hydrocarbons ◽  
Host Location ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Host Recognition ◽  
Stored Products ◽  
Minor Components ◽  
Chemical Analyses ◽  
Parasitoid Species ◽  
Branched Alkanes ◽  
Confused Flour Beetle

AbstractCuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of host insects are used by many parasitic wasps as contact kairomones for host location and recognition. As the chemical composition of CHCs varies from species to species, the CHC pattern represents a reliable indicator for parasitoids to discriminate host from non-host species. Holepyris sylvanidis is an ectoparasitoid of beetle larvae infesting stored products. Previous studies demonstrated that the larval CHC profile of the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum, comprises long chain linear and methyl-branched alkanes (methyl alkanes), which elicit trail following and host recognition in H. sylvanidis. Here we addressed the question, whether different behavioral responses of this parasitoid species to larvae of other beetle species are due to differences in the larval CHC pattern. Our study revealed that H. sylvanidis recognizes and accepts larvae of T. confusum, T. castaneum and T. destructor as hosts, whereas larvae of Oryzaephilus surinamensis were rejected. However, the latter species became attractive after applying a sample of T. confusum larval CHCs to solvent extracted larvae. Chemical analyses of the larval extracts revealed that CHC profiles of the Tribolium species were similar in their composition, while that of O. surinamensis differed qualitatively and quantitatively, i.e. methyl alkanes were present as minor components on the cuticle of all Tribolium larvae, but were absent in the O. surinamensis CHC profile. Furthermore, the parasitoid successfully recognized solvent extracted T. confusum larvae as hosts after they had been treated with a fraction of methyl alkanes. Our results show that methyl alkanes are needed for host recognition by H. sylvanidis.

Rapid up- and down-regulation of pheromone signalling due to trail crowding in the ant Lasius niger

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (5) ◽  
pp. 669-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomer J. Czaczkes ◽  
Christoph Grüter ◽  
Francis L.W. Ratnieks
Keyword(s):  
Cuticular Hydrocarbons ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Glass Beads ◽  
Lasius Niger ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Baseline Levels ◽  
Line Level ◽  
Pheromone Signalling ◽  
Repeat Visits ◽  
Pheromone Trail

Social insects often respond to signals and cues from nest-mates, and these responses may include changes in the information they, in turn, transmit. During foraging, Lasius niger deposits a pheromone trail to recruit nestmates, and ants that experience trail crowding deposit pheromone less often. Less studied, however, is the time taken for signalling to revert to baseline levels after conditions have returned to baseline levels. In this paper we study the behaviour of L. niger foragers on a trail in which crowding is simulated by using dummy ants — black glass beads coated in nestmate cuticular hydrocarbons. Ants were allowed to make four repeat visits to a feeder with dummy ants, and thus crowding, being present on the trail on all visits (CCCC), none (UUUU) or only the first two (CCUU). If dummy ants were always present (CCCC), pheromone deposition probability was low in the first two visits (54% of ants deposited pheromone) and remained low in visits 3 and 4 (51%). If dummy ants were never present (UUUU) pheromone deposition probability was high in the first two visits (93%) and remained high in visits 3 and 4 (83%). If dummy ants were present on the first two visits but removed on the second two visits (CCUU) pheromone deposition probability was low in the first two visits (61%) but rose in the second two visits (69%). This demonstrates that even after pheromone deposition has been down-regulated due to crowding in the first two visits, it is rapidly up-regulated when crowding is reduced, although it does not immediately return to the base line level.

scholarly journals Differences in Long-Chained Cuticular Hydrocarbons between Males and Gynes in Cataglyphis Desert Ants

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shani Inbar ◽  
Eyal Privman
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Mating Behavior ◽  
Cuticular Hydrocarbons ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
Polar Fraction ◽  
Virgin Queens ◽  
First Time

AbstractCuticualar hydrocarbons play an important role in chemical communication in social insects, serving, among other things, as nestmate, gender, dominance and fertility recognition cues. In ants, however, very little is known about the precopulatory signals cuticular hydrocarbons carry. These signals may serve as affecting sex pheromones and aphrodisiacs or as reliable signals for idiosyncratic traits, which indirectly affect sexual selection. In this study, we examined, for the first time, in the Cataglyphis genus, sex-specific variability in cuticular hydrocarbons. We focused on a species that exhibits split sex-ratio and found significant quantitative differences between virgin queens and their potential mates. In an analyses of both absolute amounts and relative amounts, we found different compounds to be significantly displayed on gynes and drones, suggesting absolute and relative amounts may carry different signals influencing mating behavior and mate choice. We discuss the possible signals advertised by the non-polar fraction of these hydrocarbon profiles.

scholarly journals Do Odontomachus brunneus nestmates request for help and are taken care of when caught?

Sociobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. e6022
Author(s):  
Luiz Carlos Santos Junior ◽  
Emerson Pereira Silva ◽  
William Fernando Antonialli-Junior
Keyword(s):  
Social Insects ◽  
Response Latency ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Chemical Signaling ◽  
Optimal Range ◽  
Potential Predator ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Odontomachus Brunneus ◽  
To Receive

In social insects, situations can arise that threaten an individual or an entire colony. When the call for help goes out, different behavioral responses are elicited by signals emitted from nestmates. In ants, the response can be one of redemptive behavior by the worker receiving it. However, little is known about the evolution of this behavior and in which group of ants it manifests. Therefore, this study investigates whether workers of Odontomachus brunneus Patton can act as rescuers, able to detect and respond to calls for help from nestmates. Laboratory experiments were carried out in which the legs of ants were trapped by tape, simulating capture by a predator. Nearby were nestmates able to receive and respond to a request for help. Two experiments were performed: 1. Calls for help were made at different distances, in order to test the response latency. 2. Evaluation of whether rescuers would respond differently to calls for help from nestmates, non-nestmates of the same species, and ants of another species. Finally, evaluation was made of the behaviors of the rescuers when they responded to requests for help from nestmates and ants of another species. It could be concluded from the results that O. brunneus workers respond to signals emitted by workers who may have been captured by a potential predator, prompting the performance of behaviors related to rescue attempts. The signals involved appear to have an optimal range and are species-specific. When exposed to a capture situation, this species transmits audible signals by stridulation, so it is possible that this type of signal may be involved, in addition to chemical signaling.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document