Chemical profiles, division of labor and social status in Pachycondyla queens (hymenoptera: Formicidae)

J. Tentschert; K. Kolmer; B. Hölldobler; H. J. Bestmann; J. Delabie; J. Heinze

doi:10.1007/s001140100218

Chemical profiles, division of labor and social status in Pachycondyla queens (hymenoptera: Formicidae)

J. Tentschert, K. Kolmer, B. Hölldobler, H. J. Bestmann, J. Delabie, J. Heinze

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Queens of the neotropical ponerine ant Pachycondyla cf. 'inversa' may co-operate during colony founding. One of several co-founding queens specializes in foraging, whereas the others remain in the nest and guard the brood. Division of labor is achieved by aggressive interactions, which result in the formation of dominance hierarchies. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry of cuticular hydrocarbons obtained from live queens by SPME revealed consistent differences between the patterns of cuticular hydrocarbons of queens with high versus low rank: only high-ranking queens showed considerable amounts of cuticular pentadecane (n-C₁₅) and heptadecene (n-C₁₇:1). These two substances presumably originate from the queens' Dufour glands.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	175-178
Number of pages	4
Journal	Naturwissenschaften
Volume	88
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s001140100218
State	Published - 2001
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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title = "Chemical profiles, division of labor and social status in Pachycondyla queens (hymenoptera: Formicidae)",

abstract = "Queens of the neotropical ponerine ant Pachycondyla cf. 'inversa' may co-operate during colony founding. One of several co-founding queens specializes in foraging, whereas the others remain in the nest and guard the brood. Division of labor is achieved by aggressive interactions, which result in the formation of dominance hierarchies. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry of cuticular hydrocarbons obtained from live queens by SPME revealed consistent differences between the patterns of cuticular hydrocarbons of queens with high versus low rank: only high-ranking queens showed considerable amounts of cuticular pentadecane (n-C15) and heptadecene (n-C17:1). These two substances presumably originate from the queens' Dufour glands.",

author = "J. Tentschert and K. Kolmer and B. H{\"o}lldobler and Bestmann, {H. J.} and J. Delabie and J. Heinze",

note = "Funding Information: Acknowledgements This work was financially supported by DFG (grant Ho275/7–3 to B.H. and J.H.) and by the EU via the TMR-Network “Social evolution: An integrated study of the effects of kinship, communication, productivity, and disease.” S. Foitzik, B. Oberstadt, S. Schwab, and B. Stengl took part in field work, behavioral studies and/or chemical analyses. Three referees made helpful comments on the manuscript. Copyright: Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",

year = "2001",

doi = "10.1007/s001140100218",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "88",

pages = "175--178",

journal = "Naturwissenschaften",

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AU - Tentschert, J.

AU - Kolmer, K.

AU - Hölldobler, B.

AU - Bestmann, H. J.

AU - Delabie, J.

AU - Heinze, J.

N1 - Funding Information: Acknowledgements This work was financially supported by DFG (grant Ho275/7–3 to B.H. and J.H.) and by the EU via the TMR-Network “Social evolution: An integrated study of the effects of kinship, communication, productivity, and disease.” S. Foitzik, B. Oberstadt, S. Schwab, and B. Stengl took part in field work, behavioral studies and/or chemical analyses. Three referees made helpful comments on the manuscript. Copyright: Copyright 2007 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2001

Y1 - 2001

N2 - Queens of the neotropical ponerine ant Pachycondyla cf. 'inversa' may co-operate during colony founding. One of several co-founding queens specializes in foraging, whereas the others remain in the nest and guard the brood. Division of labor is achieved by aggressive interactions, which result in the formation of dominance hierarchies. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry of cuticular hydrocarbons obtained from live queens by SPME revealed consistent differences between the patterns of cuticular hydrocarbons of queens with high versus low rank: only high-ranking queens showed considerable amounts of cuticular pentadecane (n-C15) and heptadecene (n-C17:1). These two substances presumably originate from the queens' Dufour glands.

AB - Queens of the neotropical ponerine ant Pachycondyla cf. 'inversa' may co-operate during colony founding. One of several co-founding queens specializes in foraging, whereas the others remain in the nest and guard the brood. Division of labor is achieved by aggressive interactions, which result in the formation of dominance hierarchies. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry of cuticular hydrocarbons obtained from live queens by SPME revealed consistent differences between the patterns of cuticular hydrocarbons of queens with high versus low rank: only high-ranking queens showed considerable amounts of cuticular pentadecane (n-C15) and heptadecene (n-C17:1). These two substances presumably originate from the queens' Dufour glands.

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Chemical profiles, division of labor and social status in Pachycondyla queens (hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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