Effect of diet on nestmate recognition and cuticular chemical composition of the poneromorph ant Odontomachus bauri

Abstract

The type of food resource available in the environment can influence the behavior of ant colonies. Furthermore, cuticular hydrocarbons (HCs) are important compounds for the recognition of nestmates and their composition can be influenced by several factors, including diet. Our hypothesis is that workers from the same colony of Odontomachus bauri, when subjected to diet variation, may undergo changes in the HC composition of their cuticle, which in turn would lead to a change in their pattern of nestmate recognition. For this purpose, ten colonies were subdivided into control and experimental groups. The control groups received a standard diet (honey and Cornitermes cumulans), and the experimental groups varied between honey and sugarcane molasses, Tenebrio molitor and C. cumulans. After this, induced encounters were performed between the groups of the different diets to evaluate tolerance between nestmates. The chemical composition of the cuticle was analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, and statistical analyses were applied to determine significant differences in behavior and chemical composition. No aggressiveness was observed, but recognition indicated significant differences in antennation times between groups. Furthermore, analysis of the HC profile confirmed significant variations in treatments. It is concluded that dietary variation influences the HC profile of O. bauri, causing estrangement among nestmates. Thus, our results demonstrate the ability of diet to modulate the chemical and behavioral profile of the ant O. bauri.