Abstract
The venom glands of both workers and ergatoid queens of the ant Leptogenys diminuta contain 4–methyl-3–heptanol and a mixture of esters of this alcohol and long-chain fatty acids. Only the higher proportion of 4–methyl-3–heptanone in the queens represents a chemical difference between the castes. The Dufour gland secretion of workers and queens, however, shows considerable differences. Both share a series of long-chain hydrocarbons with 9and 7–pentacosene as the major substances of the secretion but are otherwise differentiated by the presence in the workers only of three farnesene isomers, whereas queens contain a wide range of substances. The mated queen had a very complex mixture of hydrocarbons, esters and terpenes. These substances were also present in the virgin females but in smaller quantities.
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Maile, R., Jungnickel, H., Morgan, E.D. et al. Secretion of Venom and Dufour Glands in the Ant Leptogenys diminuta. J Chem Ecol 26, 2497–2506 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005528511208
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005528511208