Pretender punishment induced by chemical signalling in a queenless ant.

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0410462 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Print ISSN: 0028-0836 (Print) Linking ISSN: 00280836 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nature Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: Basingstoke : Nature Publishing Group
Original Publication: London, Macmillan Journals ltd.

Signal Transduction*/drug effects ; Cooperative Behavior* ; Reproduction* ; Social Dominance*; Agonistic Behavior/*physiology ; Ants/*physiology ; Pheromones/*physiology; Agonistic Behavior/drug effects ; Ants/anatomy & histology ; Ants/drug effects ; Pheromones/administration & dosage ; Pheromones/pharmacology ; Animals ; Biological Assay ; Bites and Stings ; Conflict, Psychological ; Female ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Animal societies are stages for both conflict and cooperation. Reproduction is often monopolized by one or a few individuals who behave aggressively to prevent subordinates from reproducing (for example, naked mole-rats, wasps and ants). Here we report an unusual mechanism by which the dominant individual maintains reproductive control. In the queenless ant Dinoponera quadriceps, only the alpha female reproduces. If the alpha is challenged by another female she chemically marks the pretender who is then punished by low-ranking females. This cooperation between alpha and low-rankers allows the alpha to inflict punishment indirectly, thereby maintaining her reproductive primacy without having to fight.

0 (Pheromones)

Date Created: 20020906 Date Completed: 20021004 Latest Revision: 20191210

20260130

10.1038/nature00932

12214231