A Chemical Releaser of Alarm and Digging Behavior in the Ant Pogonomyrmex Badius (Latreille)

The complex social behavior of ants appears to be mediated in large part by chemoreceptors. If it can be assumed that "instinctive" behavior of these insects is organized in a fashion similar to that demonstrated for the better known invertebrates, a useful hypothesis would seem to be that there exists a series of behavioral "releasers", in this case chemical substances voided by indivildual ants that evoke specific responses in other members of the same species. It is further useful for purposes of investigation to suppose that the releasers are produced at least in part as glandular secretions and tend to be accumulated and stored in glandular reservoirs. In support of this hypothesis one such releaser, the trail substance of fire ants, has been described elsewhere (Wilson, 1959). This agent effects short-range exploratory behavior and also serves as the chief orienting stimulus. Goetsch (1952) has suggested the existence of another class of chemical releasers in ants, the F e m l a m h substances ,which are said to be released by excited Workers to commuriicate a state of excitement within the colony. According to this author, workers of certain deserticolous species of the dolichoderine and formicine genera ForeIius, Tapinornu, Iridomynflex, Doryrnyrnex, and Camponotvs apparently can discharge abdominal secretions that create this effect among other workers through the air over short distances. Goetsch's interesting observation has not yet received experimental verification. The purpose of the present paper is t o report