Jandt Jennifer M, Curry Christine, Hemauer Sarah, Jeanne Robert L
Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
Naturwissenschaften. 2005 May;92(5):242-5. doi: 10.1007/s00114-005-0613-5. Epub 2005 Mar 12.
Vespine wasps have been shown to deposit an attractive chemical in the nest entrance. Foragers use this to help locate the nest when returning to it. We determined how many individuals need to track (pass through) the entrance before the chemical is recognized. We found a logistic response as the number of tracks increased. At 200 tracks and above there was a 75-90% positive response rate to the chemical. We found no evidence of trail-marking behavior performed by foragers inside the nest entrance. We conclude that the trail is not an evolved signal, but is a cue composed of an accumulation of hydrocarbons deposited from the legs or feet of workers as they walk on a substrate. This is the first quantitative measurement of the attractiveness of the nest-entrance chemical in a social wasp.
已证明胡蜂会在巢穴入口处分泌一种具有吸引力的化学物质。觅食者利用这种物质在返回巢穴时帮助定位巢穴。我们确定了在这种化学物质被识别之前需要多少个体追踪（通过）入口。随着追踪次数的增加，我们发现了一种逻辑斯蒂反应。在200次及以上的追踪时，对这种化学物质的阳性反应率为75%至90%。我们没有发现觅食者在巢穴入口内进行踪迹标记行为的证据。我们得出结论，这种踪迹不是一种进化而来的信号，而是一种由工蜂在基质上行走时从腿部或脚部沉积的碳氢化合物积累而成的线索。这是对社会性黄蜂巢穴入口化学物质吸引力的首次定量测量。
