Chemical analysis of the swarming trail pheromone of the social wasp Polybia sericea (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)

The behaviour of those polistine wasps which found their nests by swarming, suggests that these species use trail pheromones for leading the swarm to the location chosen for the new nest. Apart from a recent report regarding the ropalidine Polybioides tabidus, where the pheromone is thought to origi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of insect physiology 1999-10, Vol.45 (10), p.877-883
Main Authors: Clarke, S.R., Dani, F.R., Jones, G.R., Morgan, E.D., Turillazzi b, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
animal glands
chemical composition
Polybia
Polybia sericea
richards' glands
social insects
Social wasps
Swarming
Trail pheromones
Vespidae
volatile compounds
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Summary:The behaviour of those polistine wasps which found their nests by swarming, suggests that these species use trail pheromones for leading the swarm to the location chosen for the new nest. Apart from a recent report regarding the ropalidine Polybioides tabidus, where the pheromone is thought to originate from the Dufour gland, nothing is known about the chemistry of such pheromones. Polybia sericea is the only species for which the source of the trail pheromone, the Richards' gland, is known with certainty. The chemistry of the Richards' gland secretion of this species has been investigated in the present work and shown to be a complex mixture where the major compounds are alkyl and aromatic aldehydes, fatty acids, 3-phenylpropanoic acid, ketones, a macrolactone, a pyranone compound and nerolidol.
ISSN:0022-1910
1879-1611
DOI:10.1016/S0022-1910(99)00059-1