Chemical correlates of reproduction and worker policing in a myrmicine ant

In a number of wasps, bees, and in particular ponerine ants, quantitative and qualitative variation in the profile of cuticular hydrocarbons is associated with variation in fecundity and is likely to serve for communicating the reproductive status of an individual. Here, we demonstrate that the chemical profile on the cuticle of fertile workers and queens of the myrmicine ant Temnothorax unifasciatus is different from that of non-reproductive workers. Fertility and apparently also cuticular signatures are reversible under the influence of policing by worker aggression. Though no policing by egg-eating occurs in this species, queen and worker laid eggs also differed in their chemical profile.