Open AccessEvidence for an Alarm Pheromone in Ropalidia romandi (Le Guillou) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)
Author(s) -
KOJIMA J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
australian journal of entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1440-6055
pISSN - 1326-6756
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-6055.1994.tb00916.x
Subject(s) - vespidae , biology , hymenoptera , alarm , nest (protein structural motif) , paper wasp , ecology , swarm behaviour , pheromone , stimulus (psychology) , zoology , cognitive psychology , psychology , biochemistry , materials science , composite material
In an Australian swarm‐founding polistine, Ropalidia romandi , exposure of squashed venom sacs of workers outside the nest reduced the threshold for attack. This treatment induced recruitment of several workers to the outer surface of the envelope, while a physical stimulus given to the nest caused a sudden emergence of a large number of workers from the nest. Visual cues induced attack; black objects were preferentially attacked by the wasps while white ones were rarely attacked.