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Science 4 March 1977:
Vol. 195. no. 4281, pp. 900 - 902
DOI: 10.1126/science.841318
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Articles

Science, Vol 195, Issue 4281, 900-902
Copyright © 1977 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Weaver ants: social establishment and maintenance of territory

B Holldobler and EO Wilson

Workers of the African weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda recruit nestmates to previously unoccupied space by means of odor trails laid from the rectal gland, a hitherto unrecognized musculated organ located at the rear of the rectal sac. When enemy ants and other intruders are encountered on the territory, the Oecophylla assemble nestmates into small resting clusters by dispensing an attractant-arrestant pheromone from the sternal gland, a second newly discovered organ located on the last abdominal sternite. Under prolonged stress, additional forces are recruited to the combat area with the aid of the rectal-gland trail substance.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Territorial Strategies in Ants.
B. Holldobler and C. J. Lumsden (1980)
Science 210, 732-739
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