Multiple cuticular hydrocarbons function as a queen pheromone in the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile

Pheromones produced by queens in eusocial hymenopterans play an integral part in colony-level processes.  Queen phermones are involved in worker policing of eggs, worker execution of sexualized larvae, inhibition of worker reproduction, and gyne rearing & adoption.  To date, queen phermones have been described only in the honey bee Apis mellifera (Le Conte & Hefetz, 2008), and the black garden ant Lasius niger (Holman et al., 2013).  By fractionating and recombining cuticular extracts of the Argenitine ant Linepithema humile, we show both saturated and unsaturated cuticular hydrocarbons are required to prevent workers in orphaned laboratory colonies from rearing virgin queens (gynes).