The influence of slavemaking lifestyle, caste and sex on chemical profiles in ants: insights into the evolution of cuticular hydrocarbons.

Chemical communication is central for the formation and maintenance of insect societies. Generally, social insects only allow nest-mates into their colony, which are recognized by their cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). Social parasites, which exploit insect societies, are selected to circumvent host recognition.

Collective defence portfolios of ant hosts shift with social parasite pressure.

Host defences become increasingly costly as parasites breach successive lines of defence. Because selection favours hosts that successfully resist parasitism at the lowest possible cost, escalating coevolutionary arms races are likely to drive host defence portfolios towards ever more expensive strategies. We investigated the interplay between host defence portfolios and social parasite pressure by comparing 17 populations of two Temnothorax ant species.

Temnothorax pilagens sp. n. - a new slave-making species of the tribe Formicoxenini from North America (Hymenoptera, Formicidae).

A new species of the ant genus Temnothorax Forel, 1890 - Temnothorax pilagens sp. n. is described from eastern North America.