The aim of the present study was to characterize the variation of the chemical profiles among workers in different colonies of the stingless bee Melipona marginata. We used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (CG-MS) ...

Members of social insect colonies employ a large variety of chemical signals during their life. Of these, cuticular hydrocarbons are of primary importance for social insects since they allow for the recognition of conspecifics, ...

Cuticular hydrocarbons are chemical messengers with fundamental role in information transfer on the nestmate recognition, physical or behavioral caste, age, task specialization and reproductive status among individuals of ...

Cuticular hydrocarbons play important roles as chemical signatures of individuals, castes, sex and brood. They also can mediate the regulation of egg laying in ants, by informing directly or indirectly the reproductive ...

The ability to discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates in insect societies is essential to protect colonies from conspecific invaders. The acceptance threshold hypothesis predicts that organisms whose recognition systems ...

In social insects, task-related recognition plays an important role in the coordination and cohesion between members of the colony. Tetragonisca angustula is an eusocial stingless bee that presents a sophisticated system ...

Males, queens and workers of stingless bees show differences in external morphology, behaviour and roles within a colony. In addition, each individual has a cuticular chemical signature responsible for mutual communication ...

The cuticle surface of insects displays functions in communication, such as recognition. It is known that oenocytes are responsible for the origin of the compounds found in the epicuticle. Secretion of exocrine glands might ...