In-nest environment modulates nestmate recognition in the ant Camponotus fellah

Katzav-Gozansky, Tamar; Boulay, Raphaël; Meer, Robert Vander; Hefetz, Abraham

doi:10.1007/s00114-004-0513-0

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Another study suggested that volatiles could act as short distance discrimination cues in Lasius fuliginosus [54]. Finally in Camponotus fellah , volatiles secreted by the Dufour's gland have been shown to be involved in nestmate recognition [55], [56].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Born in an Alien Nest : How Do Social Parasite Male Offspring Escape from Host Aggression?

et al. 2012

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Social parasites exploit the colony resources of social insects. Some of them exploit the host colony as a food resource or as a shelter whereas other species also exploit the brood care behavior of their social host. Some of these species have even lost the worker caste and rely completely on the host's worker force to rear their offspring. To avoid host defenses and bypass their recognition code, these social parasites have developed several sophisticated chemical infiltration strategies. These infiltration strategies have been highly studied in several hymenopterans. Once a social parasite has successfully entered a host nest and integrated its social system, its emerging offspring still face the same challenge of avoiding host recognition. However, the strategy used by the offspring to survive within the host nest without being killed is still poorly documented. In cuckoo bumblebees, the parasite males completely lack the morphological and chemical adaptations to social parasitism that the females possess. Moreover, young parasite males exhibit an early production of species-specific cephalic secretions, used as sexual pheromones. Host workers might thus be able to recognize them. Here we used a bumblebee host-social parasite system to test the hypothesis that social parasite male offspring exhibit a chemical defense strategy to escape from host aggression during their intranidal life. Using behavioral assays, we showed that extracts from the heads of young cuckoo bumblebee males contain a repellent odor that prevents parasite males from being attacked by host workers. We also show that social parasitism reduces host worker aggressiveness and helps parasite offspring acceptance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Born in an Alien Nest : How Do Social Parasite Male Offspring Escape from Host Aggression?

et al. 2012

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“…For example, as nestmates are isolated for a longer time, they face stronger aggression when reintegrated into the colony (Heinze et al. 1996; Katzav‐Gozansky et al. 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This process can lead to the rejection of nestmates that have been kept for long time out of the nest or in a different nest‐site type (e.g., Heinze et al. 1996; Katzav‐Gozansky et al. 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, although the cuticular hydrocarbon profile is generally heritable, it can be also modified by the environment or by the addition of external substances. This process can lead to the rejection of nestmates that have been kept for long time out of the nest or in a different nest-site type (e.g., Heinze et al 1996;Katzav-Gozansky et al 2004). Second, potential enemies are treated differently, based on the threat they inflict on the colony (e.g., Alloway 1990;Whitehouse & Jaffe 1996;Von Beeren et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Differential Response of Ant Colonies to Intruders: Attack Strategies Correlate With Potential Threat

Scharf¹,

Pamminger²,

Foitzik³

2011

Ethology

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Animals are often threatened by predators, parasites, or competitors, and attacks against these enemies are a common response, which can help to remove the danger. The costs of defense are complex and involve the risk of injury, the loss of energy/time, and the erroneous identification of a friend as a foe. Our goal was to study the specificity of defense strategies. We analyzed the aggressive responses of ant colonies by confronting them with workers of an unfamiliar congeneric species, a non‐nestmate conspecific, a co‐occurring congeneric competitor species, and a social parasite—a slave‐making ant. As expected, the latter species, which can inflict dramatic fitness losses to the colony, was treated with most aggression. A co‐occurring competitor was also attacked, but the ants used different behaviors in their responses to both enemies. While the slavemaker was attacked by biting and stinging and was approached with spread mandibles, the competitor was dragged, a behavioral strategy only possible if the defending ant is similar in size and strength to the opponent. Non‐nestmate conspecifics were treated aggressively as well, but less than the slavemaker and the co‐occurring competitor, presumably because they are less easily recognized as enemies. An unfamiliar congeneric species was rarely attacked. This first detailed study comparing the aggressive responses of ant colonies toward slave‐making ants to other species posing different threats indicates that the responses of ant colonies are adjusted to the risk each opponent poses to the colony.

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“…In ants, recognition is based in cuticle chemical markers, hydrocarbon molecules synthesized in the colony, that give a particular odor to each nest, which is recognized by the olfactory receptors in the antennae (Lahav et al 1999;Katzav-Gozansky et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hermetism between Camponotus morosus Smith and Linepithema humile Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

et al. 2017

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Hermetism, a behavior that isolates ant colonies, was studied in the laboratory between two ant species in Chile, Camponotus morosus Smith and Linepithema humile Mayr. Ants from fi ve nests of C. morosus and L. humile were used, transferring ten individuals per nest of one of the colonies to receiving nests of the other. Conducts, including antennal exploration (AE), mandible opening (MO), dorsal fl exion of the abdomen (DFA), biting (Bi), ventral fl exion of the abdomen (VFA), fi ght (Fi), transport of the intruder ant (TI), moving backwards (MB), and death (De) were recorded during ten min, with ten replicates. The times of occurrence ± SD of each event were analyzed with the Student t test. The events AE, MO, DFA, and MB had a short latency time in receiving L. humile, while C. morosus presented lesser latency for the events Bi, VFA, and Fi. When analyzing by χ 2 the frequency of occurrence of each event per species, AE and MO were similar in both species, and in aggression and rejection events like DFA, Bi, VFA, Fi, MB, TI, and De, there were greater frequencies of observations in C. morosus that in L. humile. From these results, C. morosus is a more hermetic ant than L. humile. KEYWORDS:Behavior events, artifi cial nests, Chile. RESUMENSe estudió en laboratorio el hermetismo, un comportamiento de aislación entre colonias entre dos especies de hormigas en Chile, Camponotus morosus Smith y Linepithema humile Mayr. Se utilizaron hormigas desde cinco nidos de C. morosus y L. humile, y se transfi rieron diez individuos por nido desde una de las colonias hacia nidos receptores de la otra. Las conductas se grabaron durante 10 min, incluyendo exploración con las antenas (EA), abertura mandibular (AM), fl exión dorsal del abdomen (FDA), mordedura (Mo), fl exión ventral of del abdomen (FVA), vuelo (Vu), transporte de la hormiga intrusa (TI), retroceso (Re) y muerte (Mu), con diez repeticiones El tiempo de desarrollo ± DS de cada evento se analizó con el test t de Student. Los eventos EA, AM, FDA y Re tuvieron un tiempo de latencia corto al recibir a L. humile, mientras que C. morosus presentó menor latencia en los eventos Mo, FVA y Vu. Al analizar mediante χ 2 la frecuencia de ocurrencia de cada evento, EA y AM fueron similares en ambas especies, y en los evento de agresión y rechazo como FDA, Mo, FVA, Vu, Re, TI y Mu hubo mayor frecuencia de observaciones en C. morosus que en L. humile. Con estos resultados, C. morosus es una hormiga más hermética que L. humile.

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In-nest environment modulates nestmate recognition in the ant Camponotus fellah

Cited by 20 publications

References 13 publications

Born in an Alien Nest : How Do Social Parasite Male Offspring Escape from Host Aggression?

Born in an Alien Nest : How Do Social Parasite Male Offspring Escape from Host Aggression?

Differential Response of Ant Colonies to Intruders: Attack Strategies Correlate With Potential Threat

Hermetism between Camponotus morosus Smith and Linepithema humile Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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