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Elimination of sexual brood in the Argentine ant Linepithema humile : queen effect and brood recognition
Author(s) -
Passera L.,
Aron S.,
Bach D.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
entomologia experimentalis et applicata
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.765
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1570-7458
pISSN - 0013-8703
DOI - 10.1111/j.1570-7458.1995.tb01928.x
Subject(s) - linepithema , argentine ant , brood , biology , larva , sex pheromone , pheromone , queen (butterfly) , zoology , mating , hymenoptera , nest (protein structural motif) , ecology , biochemistry
Abstract Mated queens of the ant Linepithema humile ( Iridomyrmex humilis Mayr) introduced into dequeened colony fragments rearing sexual brood elicited worker aggression resulting in queen larvae being bitten and eliminated. By contrast, male larvae were spared. Regarding queen brood, killing mainly concerned small and medium sized larvae. A large proportion of the large larvae escaped extermination, and prepupae and pupae were spared. These data suggest that workers were able to discriminate sex, caste and age of the brood. That a queen pheromone may be involved was shown by experiments using whole or cut corpses that were either rinsed or not rinsed in pentane. The pheromone eliciting worker aggressive behaviour was shown to act over a short distance, suggesting that it is somewhat volatile. Similarities and differences between this new queen pheromone and other known queen pheromones acting on queen production or worker attraction are discussed as well as the origin of the signals underlying the recognition of the larval classes.