Functional properties of ant queen pheromones as revealed by behavioral experiments

Abstract

An ant colony is the epitome of social organization where up to millions of individuals cooperate to survive, compete, and reproduce as a single superorganism, Female members of ant colonies typically are categorized into a reproductive queen caste and a non-reproductive worker caste. The queen(s) conveys her fertility condition and in cases, genotype status, via a suite of queen pheromones whose various functions are crucial to the superorganismal nature of ant colonies. Knowledge of these functional properties is fundamental for identifying constituent chemicals and understanding corresponding modes of actions. In this review, I summarize functional properties of ant queen pheromones learned from seven decades of behavioral experiments, and contextualize this knowledge within the broader understanding of queen pheromones in other major groups of social insects. The effects include promotion of colony integrity and coherence, maintenance of reproductive dominance of the queen, and regulation of colony social structure. Additionally, general characteristics of queen pheromones are discussed and potential avenues for future research are highlighted.