Article
Biology
Martina Ozan, Heikki Helantera, Patrizia d'Ettorre, Liselotte Sundstrom
Summary: Cooperative breeding in ants involves conflicts over reproductive shares, which can be resolved in different ways. This study examined how the reproductive success of queens in the ant Formica fusca is influenced by the size of their worker entourage, their fecundity, and their cuticular hydrocarbon profile. The results showed that queen fecundity and egg hatching success increased with the size of their entourage, and newly hatched larvae from highly fecund queens were smaller. Additionally, higher relatedness among workers was found to increase queen fecundity, and queens with a large worker entourage had different cuticular chemistry compared to those with a small worker entourage. These findings highlight the important role of workers in determining queen fitness and the impact of relatedness on colony reproductive output.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Angelos Mouratidis, Sandra Vacas, Julieta Herrero, Vicente Navarro-Llopis, Marcel Dicke, Alejandro Tena
Summary: Research shows that parasitic wasps can detect the presence of ants that have tended to phloem-feeding insects through contact infochemicals, potentially resulting in a reduced oviposition rate for the wasps in these colonies. This behavior is likely to have widespread implications in various ecosystems where ants typically tend to phloem-feeding insects.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biology
Tian Xu, Li Chen
Summary: The text discusses the importance of chemical communication in ant-hemipteran mutualism and how invasive ants can quickly establish mutualistic relationships with hemipterans they have never coevolved with. Future research directions for a better understanding of the role of chemical communication in ant invasions are highlighted.
CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Luca Pietro Casacci, Francesca Barbero, Piotr Slipinski, Magdalena Witek
Summary: Social parasitism is a unique form of antagonistic interaction where a parasite exploits an entire society instead of an individual. Myrmica karavajevi exemplifies ultimate deception strategies in reaching the highest social status within an ant colony, requiring a combined molecular and behavioral approach for studying host-parasite interactions.
Article
Biology
Clint A. Penick, Majid Ghaninia, Kevin L. Haight, Comzit Opachaloemphan, Hua Yan, Danny Reinberg, Jurgen Liebig
Summary: Brain plasticity in reproductive workers of the ant Harpegnathos saltator is demonstrated to be reversible, allowing significant changes in behavior, physiology, and gene expression even after being reverted back to a non-reproductive status. This reversibility in brain volume changes resembles that found in some long-lived vertebrates, highlighting the unique characteristics of phenotypic plasticity in different species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Hidehiro Watanabe, Shoji Ogata, Nonoka Nodomi, Kosuke Tateishi, Hiroshi Nishino, Ryosuke Matsubara, Mamiko Ozaki, Fumio Yokohari
Summary: To maintain eusociality, ants can recognize subtle differences in cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). It is debated whether peripheral or central neural mechanisms are responsible for CHC discrimination. In this study, single basiconic sensilla in Japanese carpenter ants were recorded to determine how CHCs are processed. The results showed that sensory neurons in the sensilla were electrically coupled and had the potential to discriminate different CHCs based on activated neuron patterns.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Unni Pulliainen, Nick Bos, Patrizia D'Ettorre, Liselotte Sundstrom
Summary: Chemical communication is widespread in organisms, particularly in insects like ants. This study focused on the role of surface chemistry, specifically long-chain cuticular hydrocarbons, in recognition and classification among social insects. Differences in surface chemistry were found among castes and developmental stages, highlighting the complexity and diversity of chemical signals used by ants for recognition.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Haolin Zeng, Jocelyn G. Millar, Li Chen, Laurent Keller, Kenneth G. Ross
Summary: Ants use chemical signals to communicate and social organization in the red imported fire ant is influenced by the presence of the Sb supergene. Worker ants are able to distinguish queen reproductive status based on specific chemical compounds, with unsaturated hydrocarbons playing a key role. The combination of unsaturated hydrocarbons and polar compounds in queen pheromones elicits a synergistic effect on worker ant behavior, contributing to the regulation of social organization within the colony.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Christoph von Beeren, Adrian Brueckner, Philipp O. Hoenle, Bryan Ospina-Jara, Daniel J. C. Kronauer, Nico Bluethgen
Summary: This study evaluated the impact of body size, morphological gestalt, and accuracy in chemical mimicry on host aggression towards ant symbionts. The results showed that CHC mimicry accuracy does not necessarily predict host aggression towards ant guests, and that the body size and morphological gestalt of guests may be important, yet underrated traits shaping the level of host hostility.
FRONTIERS IN ZOOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gabriela Zorzal, Flavio Camarota, Marcondes Dias, Diogo M. Vidal, Eraldo Lima, Aline Fregonezi, Ricardo I. Campos
Summary: This study investigated aggression among individuals belonging to close and distant nests of the plant-ant Azteca muelleri, and found that the DE effect and spatial distance have significant impacts on ant aggressiveness, while the overall dissimilarities on CHC blend have no effect on ant aggressiveness.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hannah R. Gellert, Daphne C. Halley, Zackary J. Sieb, Jody C. Smith, Gregory M. Pask
Summary: Ants and other eusocial insects use chemical signals for communication within the colony. Ants detect important information through cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) on their exoskeleton. The unique morphology of CHC-sensitive basiconic sensilla in ants shows adaptations for contact chemosensation. These specialized structures evolved to serve the functional requirements of eusocial communication.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Wolfgang Schuehly, Ulrike Riessberger-Galle, Javier Hernandez Lopez
Summary: The study found that bee larvae exposed to pesticides show reduced brood production and a high number of empty brood cells, along with increased numbers of oenocytes. These larvae also display altered CHC profiles and are actively removed by nurse bees via chemical cues.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lai Ka Lo, R. Reshma, Lisa Johanna Tewes, Barbara Milutinovic, Caroline Mueller, Joachim Kurtz
Summary: Group-living individuals face high risks of disease transmission and parasite infection. Research has found that in social and some non-social insects, immune control is achieved not only through individual immune defenses, but also through infochemicals such as contact cues and defensive volatiles, which help mount a group-level immunity. However, it is still not well understood whether activation of the immune system leads to changes in chemical phenotypes that mediate these responses.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Eniko Csata, Luca Pietro Casacci, Joachim Ruther, Abel Bernadou, Juergen Heinze, Balint Marko
Summary: The application of alkane tricosane (n-C23) reduces aggression towards non-nestmates in ants, indicating a pacifying signal in ant nestmate discrimination in parasitic interferences. Parasites often interfere with the behavior of their hosts, leading to changes at both individual and societal levels. The ant-parasitic fungus Rickia wasmannii influences Myrmica ants by expanding their nestmate recognition template, increasing the acceptance of infected non-nestmates. Infected ants consistently show an increase in alkane tricosane (n-C23) in their cuticular hydrocarbon profiles. Experimental application of synthetic n-C23 mimicking fungal infection resulted in peaceful behavior towards infected non-nestmates, supporting the hypothesis that n-C23 acts as a 'pacifying' signal. This study suggests that parasitic interference in nestmate discrimination can alter colony structure by increasing genetic heterogeneity in infected colonies.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Marion Cordonnier, Bernard Kaufmann, Laurent Simon, Gilles Escarguel, Nathalie Mondy
Summary: Species and nestmate recognition in social insects mainly relies on cuticular hydrocarbons, which generate colony-specific odor profiles and regulate aggression. Hybrid zones between ant species show well-differentiated hydrocarbon profiles and high interspecific aggression, with hybrids displaying a mixture of parental and unique patterns. Interactions between heterospecific workers vary based on whether they come from sympatric or allopatric areas, emphasizing the complexity of recognition mechanisms and discrimination in hybrids.