Chemical Recognition Cues in Ant-Aphid Mutualism: Differentiating, Sharing, and Modifying Cuticular Components.

ABSTRACT: Aphid-tending ants form mutualistic associations with aphids. During their interactions, aphids and ants use both tactile stimuli and chemical cues to communicate. Recent studies suggest that ants modify the cuticular hydrocarbons of mutualistic aphids they attend, but it is unclear which compounds are implicated in recognition. Thus, we investigated the chemical basis for the discrimination between attended and unattended aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), by the ant Tapinoma ibericum (Santschi, 1925) including cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs and non-CHCs) compounds in the analysis. Chemical profiles of 14 colonies of A. gossypii attended by ants for three days were significantly different from those of unattended aphids. These results show that contact with T. ibericum ra

SUBMITTER: Foronda J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12064600 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature