Trail pheromone of myrmicine ant Pristomyrmex pungens

The myrmicine ant Pristomyrmex pungens marks recruitment trails with poison gland secretions. The effective trail pheromone compound is 6-n-pentyl-2-pyrone. Poison gland components were identified by means of gas chromatographic coupled mass spectrometry. The biological activity was examined in trail-following experiments as well as in gas chromatographic coupled electroantennograms. In addition to 6-n-pentyl-2-pyrone, a number of monoterpenes were found in the poison gland secretion, i.e., α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, myrcene, α-phellandrene, α-terpinene, and limonene. The terpenoid compounds increased the trail-following response only slightly when offered together with 6-n-pentyl-2-pyrone. In contrast to the latter component, synthetic monoterpenes elicited no orientation behavior in trail-following bioassays.