« Previous AbstractEffect of packaging materials and storage on major volatile compounds in three Australian native herbs    Next AbstractIdentification of the Trail Pheromone of the Pavement Ant Tetramorium immigrans (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) »

Insects

Title:		"Ants Sense, and Follow, Trail Pheromones of Ant Community Members"
Author(s):		Chalissery JM; Renyard A; Gries R; Hoefele D; Alamsetti SK; Gries G;
Address:		"Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. jchaliss@sfu.ca. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. asim_renyard@sfu.ca. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. margret_gries@sfu.ca. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. danielle_hoefele@sfu.ca. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. santoshchem2020@gmail.com. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. gerhard_gries@sfu.ca"
Journal Title:		Insects
Year:		2019
Volume:		20191101
Issue:		11
Page Number:		-
DOI:		10.3390/insects10110383
ISSN/ISBN:		2075-4450 (Print) 2075-4450 (Electronic) 2075-4450 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Ants deposit trail pheromones that guide nestmates to food sources. We tested the hypotheses that ant community members (Western carpenter ants, Camponotus modoc; black garden ants, Lasius niger; European fire ants, Myrmica rubra) (1) sense, and follow, each other's trail pheromones, and (2) fail to recognize trail pheromones of allopatric ants (pavement ants, Tetramorium caespitum; desert harvester ants, Novomessor albisetosus; Argentine ants, Linepithema humilis). In gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection analyses of a six-species synthetic trail pheromone blend (6-TPB), La. niger, Ca. modoc, and M. rubra sensed the trail pheromones of all community members and unexpectedly that of T. caespitum. Except for La. niger, all species did not recognize the trail pheromones of N. albisetosus and Li. humilis. In bioassays, La. niger workers followed the 6-TPB trail for longer distances than their own trail pheromone, indicating an additive effect of con- and hetero-specific pheromones on trail-following. Moreover, Ca. modoc workers followed the 6-TPB and their own trail pheromones for similar distances, indicating no adverse effects of heterospecific pheromones on trail-following. Our data show that ant community members eavesdrop on each other's trail pheromones, and that multiple pheromones can be combined in a lure that guides multiple species of pest ants to lethal food baits"
Keywords:		Camponotus modoc European fire ant Lasius niger Myrmica rubra Western carpenter ant black garden ant eavesdropping gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection pheromonal communication trail pheromone;
Notes:		"PubMed-not-MEDLINEChalissery, Jaime M Renyard, Asim Gries, Regine Hoefele, Danielle Alamsetti, Santosh Kumar Gries, Gerhard eng NSERC-IRC/Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada/ Switzerland 2019/11/07 Insects. 2019 Nov 1; 10(11):383. doi: 10.3390/insects10110383"