Solid-phase microextraction and cuticular hydrocarbon differences related to reproductive activity in queenless ant Dinoponera quadriceps. [Erratum: Aug 1998, v. 24 (8), p. 1423.]
1998
Monnin, T. | Malosse, C. | Peeters, C.
We extracted the cuticular hydrocarbons from live Dinoponera quadriceps ants (10 colonies collected from Brazil) with the solventless solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technique. Gas chromatography of the SPME samples (N = 233 measurements) compared with pentane extracts (N = 10) resulted in similar profiles. Eighty-one compounds belonging to the main long-chain hydrocarbon families were identified by GC-MS. There is no morphologically specialized queen in D. quadriceps and only one aggressively dominant worker (alpha) mates and reproduces in each colony. The alpha ant (N = 26 individuals) always yielded higher amounts and percentages of 9-hentriacontene (9-C31:1) than her sterile nestmates (N = 47). Since SPME is not destructive, it allowed for the repeated extraction of the same individuals, demonstrating that the alpha ant (virgin or mated) always had higher levels of 9-hentriacontene. This difference appears related to ovarian activity and may function as a signal of the alpha's dominance status.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library