Propaganda substances in the cuckoo ant Leptothorax kutteri and the slave-maker Harpagoxenus sublaevis

Abstract

This paper reports the first discovery of "propaganda substances" in a workerless inquiline ant, the European myrmicine Leptothorax kutteri Buschinger. These substances are used by the parasite queen as a chemical weapon for defense against hostile workers of the host species L. acervorum. The substances also have an unusual behavioral effect: they cause host workers to attack each other, and they therefore appear to override nestmate recognition in host colonies. Laboratory experiments show that the source of these substances is the Dufour's gland of the L. kutteri queen. Our experiments also confirm the hypothesis that the closely related slave-making ant Harpagoxenus sublaevis uses its Dufour's gland secretions as a chemical weapon during slave raids and colony foundation. The behavioral effect of these slave-maker secretions is identical to that of L. kutteri queens. © 1986 Plenum Publishing Corporation.