modiglianii colonies living with a red Ca. rufifemur and individuals living with black Ca. rufifemur possessed qualitatively unique hydrocarbon profiles. the former ones possessed the 2 principal cuticular compounds from the red Ca. rufifemur, that are ab sent inside the latter ones, Therefore, it appears plausible the black Ca. rufifemur can understand the presence of these two compounds in non nestmate Cr. modiglianii, whereas the red Ca. rufifemur cannot sense their absence, and hence fails to discriminate nestmate from non nestmate Cr. modiglianii. Crematoenones lessen interspecific aggression However not as recognition cues, crematoenones play a crucial purpose in interspecific interactions by lowering Ca. rufifemur aggressiveness. While black Ca. rufifemur showed reduced aggression in the direction of allocolonial Cr. modiglianii or its surface extracts, their hydrocarbons alone elicited fierce attacks.
Once we re added informative post the previously removed crematoenones for the allocolonial hydrocarbon fractions, the resulting aggression of Ca. rufifemur was decreased to an intracolonial degree. A related, albeit weaker result was uncovered with extracts of two other Crematogaster species. Though Ca. rufifemur usually attacked dummies with these extracts, their aggression ranges had been decrease just after crematoenone addition. Thus, the crematoenones seem to function as appease ment substances. It can be challenging to establish no matter if crematoenones reduce aggression at a neuronal level or whether they mask the recognition cues, i. e. hamper recognition itself on the receptor degree. The former hypothesis implies they act as behaviour modifiers, in analogy to e. g. honeybee queen pheromones in intra distinct signalling, Even so, a definite distinction among these two possibilities will only be achievable based mostly on experiments that involve other behavioural responses than aggression, e.
g. by testing regardless of whether crematoenone addition to intra and allocolonial brood affects brood care, or by looking to issue ants on cer tain crematoenones, Each Camponotus rufifemur and Crematogaster modiglianii possess cuticular hydrocarbons selleck inhibitor of signifi cantly greater chain length than observed in non parabiotic species. This shift in chain length is peculiar to closely linked ant species and looks to promote interspecific tolerance. Apparently, the recognition of quantitative distinctions is hampered in extended chain hydrocarbon profiles, at the very least for Camponotus, The crematoenones appear to lower aggression by impairing recognition of qualitative variations at the same time, therefore complementing the chemical tolerance mechanisms amongst the parabiotic partners. Interestingly, the red Ca. rufifemur range did not show any aggression even in the direction of allocolonial Crematogaster workers. Therefore, appeasement allomones wouldn’t be ne cessary here.