Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental, Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso Do Sul, Dourados, Mato Grosso Do Sul, 79804-970, Brazil.
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Entomologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados, Dourados, Mato Grosso Do Sul, 79804-970, Brazil.
Naturwissenschaften. 2024 Apr 18;111(3):24. doi: 10.1007/s00114-024-01908-6.
When an insect walks, it leaves chemical cues that derive from the arolium, a tarsal structure. These cues may contain important information about other species that occur in their community and can then mediate interactions of competition, predation, and information about resources with ants from their own colony. The compounds of these cues are released into the substrate in the form of chemical footprints. There are still few species studied, and little is known about the behavior of ants regarding these signals and how they use them in their interactions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the behavioral strategy of different ant species when confronted with chemical footprints left by other ants, as well as identify their compounds and their relationship with the cuticular hydrocarbon profile. The experiments were performed using a Y-maze, where in one of the arms, there were chemical footprints of their own species or of other species, and the other Y arm was footprint-free. The chemical compounds of footprints and cuticle were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results show that foragers of all species detect and respond to the presence of chemical cues in the form of footprints left by other ants. Foragers of all species followed footprints of individuals of the same species both nestmates and non-nestmates; however, Neoponera villosa avoided the footprints of Cephalotes borgmeieri, and C. borgmeieri avoided the footprints of the other two species. The chemical compositions of the cuticle and footprints are related to each other and are specific to each species.
当昆虫行走时，它会留下源自跗节结构的化学线索。这些线索可能包含有关其所在群落中其他物种的重要信息，然后可以调节竞争、捕食和有关资源的信息与来自其自身群体的蚂蚁之间的相互作用。这些线索的化合物以化学足迹的形式释放到基质中。目前研究的物种仍然很少，关于蚂蚁对这些信号的行为以及它们如何在相互作用中使用这些信号知之甚少。因此，本研究的目的是评估不同蚂蚁物种在面对其他蚂蚁留下的化学足迹时的行为策略，并确定它们的化合物及其与表皮碳氢化合物图谱的关系。该实验使用 Y 型迷宫进行，在其中一个臂上有自身物种或其他物种的化学足迹，而另一个 Y 臂则没有足迹。通过气相色谱-质谱法分析足迹和表皮的化学化合物。结果表明，所有物种的觅食者都能检测到并响应其他蚂蚁留下的化学线索的存在，这些线索以足迹的形式存在。所有物种的觅食者都跟随同一物种个体的足迹，包括同巢和非同巢个体；然而，Neoponera villosa 避开了 Cephalotes borgmeieri 的足迹，而 C. borgmeieri 则避开了其他两个物种的足迹。表皮和足迹的化学成分相互关联，且具有物种特异性。
