Role of Dufour's gland and mandibular gland secretion in Ant Colony organisation and defense mechanisms of Camponotus compressus and Oecophylla smaragdina

Abstract

Ants are eusocial insects and usually observed in 3 castes and usually secrete a wide variety of pheromones for surviving in the colony. They can be sex pheromone, trail pheromone and alarm pheromone. These pheromones help in the recruitment of workers, mating, foraging for food. These pheromones might contain a single compound from a single gland or from two glands. This study analyses the knowledge of these pheromones and their chemical structure. The mandibular gland and Dufour’s gland of Oecophylla smaragdina and Camponotus compressus were extensively studied to provide a valuable resource in chemical ecology research. Although limited research has been done on the pheromones released by Oecophylla smaragdina and Camponotus compressus so far. The Dufour's gland is one of the most well-developed glands in ants, playing vital roles in defense, foraging, information exchange, and reproduction. The chemical components were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.. The secretions from the Dufour’s gland and the mandibular gland contained a high concentration of n-undecane, which serves as an alarm pheromone, and their compositions varied among different castes. This highlights a research gap and the need to investigate the differences in the chemical composition between these two ant species - Oecophylla smaragdina and Camponotus compressus, we analyse the diverse chemicals released from the Dufour’s gland and the mandibular gland.