Thin-layer chromatographic isolation of the trall pheromone of the ant Pheidole pallidula |
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Authors: | MARIE-CLAIRE CAMMAERTS ROGER CAMMAERTS |
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Institution: | Laboratoire de Biologie Animale et Cellulaire, University of Brussels, Belgium |
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Abstract: | Abstract. Although the presence of small amounts of 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (EDMP) has been reported in the poison gland of the Pheidole pallidula minor workers, this substance is not the true trail pheromone of this ant. This pyrazine acts as an attractant and a locostimulant. Appropriate solvent extractions and thin-layer chromatography of poison glands, together with trail bioassays, have shown that another substance acts as the trail pheromone. Furthermore, there seems to be an auxiliary pheromone, acting as a synergist; this might be EDMP. |
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Keywords: | Ant Myrmicinae Pheidole pallidula poison gland trail pheromone 3-ethyl-2 5-dimethylpyrazine |
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