User:Kratinaha/Chemical communication in insects

Add sources

 * no sources in lead section
 * reference for pheromones and kairomones in "Semiochemicals" section, maybe use first paper from class but check in with Ian
 * source for the claim that many semiochemicals are derived from food
 * sources for the different ways pheromones are used
 * attraction of partners
 * defense against predators
 * marking territory

Add small paragraphs

 * on releaser hormones

Add big paragraphs

 * common mechanisms in social insects

Research
=== Pheromone Communication in Social Insects - Vander Meer, Robert K. et al. (1998) ===


 * Social insects differ from solitary insects in their amount of exocrine glands (p. 3)
 * Many ants and bees secret "alarm substances" from their mandibular gland (p. 11)
 * Many social insects have a mandibular gland
 * Trail pheromones (e.g. in ants and termites
 * Can be released through sting, "anal opening", glands on the tergum (p. 12), legs
 * Postpharyngeal gland is unique to Formicidae (uncertain if it secrets digestive substances or if it    is involved in communication with nestmates) (p. 13)
 * A pheromone may be comprised of substances from several glands as is the case for the trail pheromone
 * Substances secreted from several glands my combine into one pheromone as can be observed in the trail pheromone of Messor bouvieri  or hormones secreted by queens of the bees (p. 14) (try to alter this more to make it more different from original text)
 * Sometimes primer and releaser homes are secreted together or work together (p. 14)


 * Repertoire of pheromones may differ between different groups within a hive or colony (p. 14)

Primer Pheromones in social Hymenoptera - Conte

 * chemistry is only known for primer pheromones of bees


 * why are workers sterile? Two possible explanations
 * queen control hypothesis: primer hormones released by the queen affect ovarian development of workers which renders them sterile
 * worker control hypothesis: in a response to the queen's presence, which is signaled through a chemical, workers do not reproduce to increase their inclusive fitnes
 * HONEYBEES:
 * formation of full sized eggs in workers is suppresed by queen mandibular pheromone (QMP) (p. 525) and a pheromone from the tergal glans of the queen
 * queen reunite pheromone: QMP with three more substances
 * pheromones can be distributed through the colony by messenger bees that collect pheromones from the queen's body with their mouth and antennae
 * multiple components of QMP
 * 9-oxo-2-decenoic acid
 * brood also secrets primer and releaser pheromones that lead to sterility within workers, contain ethyl palmitate and methyl linolenate

= Editing =

Pheromones
Pheromones are of two main kinds: primer pheromones, which generate a long-duration change in the insect that receives them, or releaser pheromones, which cause an immediate change in behaviour. Primers include the queen pheromones essential to maintain the caste structure of social Hymenopteran colonies; they tend to be non-volatile and are dispersed by workers across the colony. In some ants and wasps, the queen pheromones are cuticular hydrocarbons. Eusocial insects including ants, termites, bees, and social wasps produce pheromones from several types of exocrine gland. These include mandibular glands in the head, and Dufour's, tergal, and other glands in the abdomen.

copied and adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_communication_in_insects?action=edit