Abstract
The Dufour glands of worker ants of Tetramorium caespitum, and the morphologically similar T. impurum are filled with similar, but species-specific mixtures of linear hydrocarbons and three homologous sesquiterpene corhpounds. Glands of workers of T. caespitum contain, on average, 70 ng of oil containing C13 to C17 linear hydrocarbons with n-pentadecane (64%) and a mixture of pentadecenes (14%) as major components. T. impurum glands are smaller and contain an average of 40 ng of the same mixture but with n-pentadecane (49%) and a sesquiterpenoid compound (19%) the major components. Two isomeric pentadecenes, (Z)-6-pentadecene and (Z)-7-pentadecene are present in both species. T. semilaeve workers contain on average only 30 ng of a simple mixture of hydrocarbons with pentadecane contributing more than 90% of the total.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 669-685 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Journal of Chemical Ecology |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1986 |
Keywords
- Dufour gland
- Formicidae
- Hymenoptera
- Tetramorium
- ant
- isomeric pentadecenes
- pentadecane
- sesquiterpene homologues