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Dufour gland secretion in the harvester ant genus Pogonomyrmex

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Summary.

Dufour gland secretions of the harvester ants Pogonomyrmex barbatus, P. rugosus and P. maricopa were investigated. The glandular blends exhibit species specific patterns, but more importantly, based on indiviual profiles of Dufour gland contents of colony members it is possible to separate the colonies from each other in each species. It is possible that these collective colony specific cues serve as longer lasting trunk route markers. Behavioral tests demonstrate that workers of P. rugosus prefer homing routes marked by members of their own colony to routes marked by a foreign conspecific colony.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl Verhaltensphysiologie und Soziobiologie (Zoologie II), Biozentrum, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany

    Bert Hölldobler & Jürgen Liebig

  2. Chemical Ecology Group, School of Chemistry and Physics, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, England

    E. David Morgan, Neil J. Oldham & Yue Liu

  3. Dyson Perrins laboratory, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, England

    Neil J. Oldham

  4. Mudanjiang Teachers College, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province, 157011, China

    Yue Liu

Authors
  1. Bert Hölldobler
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  2. E. David Morgan
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  3. Neil J. Oldham
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  4. Jürgen Liebig
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  5. Yue Liu
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Correspondence to Bert Hölldobler.

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Hölldobler, B., David Morgan, E., Oldham, N.J. et al. Dufour gland secretion in the harvester ant genus Pogonomyrmex . Chemoecology 14, 101–106 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-003-0267-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00049-003-0267-8

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