Entomology Collections, Miscellaneous
Date of this Version
1988
Abstract
A brood pheromone is a chemical or mixture of chemicals released by immature stages that elicits a behavioral response in conspecific adults. The current literature devoted to brood pheromones in several ant species does not prove the existence of such a pheromone or even of brood-specific chemicals. The possibility of a food response or a nestmate recognition response, two of the most confounding factors, has not been eliminated. Two alternative hypotheses involving brood behavior, morphology, cuticular chemicals, and associative learning are proposed.
Comments
Published in Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 81(5): 705-710 (1988).