Marlier J F, Quinet Y, de Biseau J C
Service d'Eco-Ethologie Evolutive CP 160/12, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 50 Av. Roosevelt, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Behav Processes. 2004 Nov 30;67(3):427-40. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2004.07.003.
Using bioassays, the defensive behaviour of Crematogaster scutellaris and the biological activities of its abdominal secretion were investigated. Beside classical aggressive behaviours such as grips, C. scutellaris workers performed frequent characteristic gaster flexions during interspecific encounters, sometimes tempting to apply their abdominal secretion topically on the enemy. The toxicity of the venom of C. scutellaris to other ants greatly differed among the species tested, some being killed after the topical application of only three droplets, while others were quite resistant to a dose of 90 droplets. All ant species tested were strongly and immediately repelled by a contact between their antennae or mouthparts with the venom of C. scutellaris. Abdominal secretion was never used during intraspecific interference and workers were resistant to a topical application of the venom of their own species. Intraspecific repellency was significant but moderate compared to interspecific one. Workers of C. scutellaris were never seen using their venom during prey capture. In conclusion, the main biological activity of the abdominal secretion of C. scutellaris seems to be its repellency to other ant species. This is supported by field experiments showing that Pheidole pallidula foragers were efficiently repelled at coexploited baits, allowing the monopolization of most prey by C. scutellaris.
利用生物测定法，对黄胸散白蚁的防御行为及其腹部分泌物的生物活性进行了研究。除了抓握等典型的攻击行为外，黄胸散白蚁工蚁在种间相遇时还频繁进行特有的腹部弯曲，有时试图将腹部分泌物局部涂抹在敌人身上。黄胸散白蚁毒液对其他蚂蚁的毒性在受试物种之间差异很大，有些物种仅在局部涂抹三滴毒液后就被杀死，而另一些物种对90滴的剂量则具有相当强的抵抗力。所有受试蚂蚁物种在其触角或口器与黄胸散白蚁毒液接触时都会立即受到强烈排斥。在种内干扰期间从未使用过腹部分泌物，工蚁对自身物种毒液的局部涂抹具有抵抗力。与种间排斥相比，种内排斥显著但程度适中。在捕食过程中从未见过黄胸散白蚁工蚁使用毒液。总之，黄胸散白蚁腹部分泌物的主要生物活性似乎是其对其他蚂蚁物种的排斥性。野外实验表明，淡色小家蚁觅食者在共同利用的诱饵处被有效排斥，这使得黄胸散白蚁能够独占大多数猎物，这一结果支持了上述结论。
