Cuticular Hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons (HC) carried in a waxy coating of the cuticle of the body provide a chemical signature that ants use to discriminate friends and foes. Distinctive hydrocarbon profiles or signatures are produced by a combination of genes and diet. In general any given nest or colony is thought of as having a distinct colony odor that aids in nestmate recognition, i.e., the HC profile is perceived and assessed during initial encounters between individual ants. The recognizable shared nestmate HC profile is maintained in a homogenous state through various means that include trophollaxis, allogrooming and passive transfer during nestmate contacts.

A large number of species have had their cuticular hydrocarbon chemistry examined. This work is often combined with studies of a wide variety of behaviors that directly or indirectly include some form of nestmate recognition.


 * Neoponera apicalis