Contents of dufour glands of workers of three species ofTetramorium (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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Abstract
The Dufour glands of worker ants ofTetramorium caespitum, and the morphologically similarT. impurum are filled with similar, but species-specific mixtures of linear hydrocarbons and three homologous sesquiterpene corhpounds. Glands of workers ofT. caespitum contain, on average, 70 ng of oil containing C13 to C17 linear hydrocarbons withn-pentadecane (64%) and a mixture of pentadecenes (14%) as major components.T. impurum glands are smaller and contain an average of 40 ng of the same mixture but withn-pentadecane (49%) and a sesquiterpenoid compound (19%) the major components. Two isomeric pentadecenes, (Z)-6-pentadecene and (Z)-7-pentadecene are present in both species.T. semilaeve workers contain on average only 30 ng of a simple mixture of hydrocarbons with pentadecane contributing more than 90% of the total.