| Title: | "An overlooked mandibular-rubbing behavior used during recruitment by the African weaver ant, Oecophylla longinoda" |
| Author(s): | Roux O; Billen J; Orivel J; Dejean A; |
| Address: | "Ecologie des Forets de Guyane, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique: Unite Mixte de Recherche, Kourou, France. oroux@cict.fr" |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0008957 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "In Oecophylla, an ant genus comprising two territorially dominant arboreal species, workers are known to (1) use anal spots to mark their territories, (2) drag their gaster along the substrate to deposit short-range recruitment trails, and (3) drag the extruded rectal gland along the substrate to deposit the trails used in long-range recruitment. Here we study an overlooked but important marking behavior in which O. longinoda workers first rub the underside of their mandibles onto the substrate, and then--in a surprising posture--tilt their head and also rub the upper side of their mandibles. We demonstrate that this behavior is used to recruit nestmates. Its frequency varies with the rate at which a new territory, a sugary food source, a prey item, or an alien ant are discovered. Microscopy analyses showed that both the upper side and the underside of the mandibles possess pores linked to secretory glands. So, by rubbing their mandibles onto the substrate, the workers probably spread a secretion from these glands that is involved in nestmate recruitment" |
| Keywords: | "Animal Communication Animals Ants/*physiology Behavior, Animal/*physiology Head Movements/physiology Honey Locomotion/physiology Mandible/*physiology/ultrastructure Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Pheromones/physiology Predatory Behavior/physiology;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineRoux, Olivier Billen, Johan Orivel, Jerome Dejean, Alain eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2010/02/04 PLoS One. 2010 Feb 1; 5(2):e8957. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0008957" |
