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Effects Of Soldier-Derived Terpenes On Soldier Caste Differentiation In The Termite (Reticulitermes Flavipes), Matthew R. Tarver, Erica A. Schmelz, James R. Rocca, Michael E. Scharf

Department of Entomology Faculty Publications

Primer pheromones play key roles in regulating division of labor, which is one of the most fundamental and defining aspects of insect sociality. Primer pheromones are chemical messengers that transmit hormone-like messages among colony members; in recipients these messages can either induce or suppress phenotypic caste differentiation. Here, we investigated soldier-caste-derived chemicals as possible primer pheromones in the lower termite Reticulitermes flavipes, a species for which no primer pheromones have yet been identified. We determined that soldier head extracts (SHE), when provided to totipotent workers along with the insect morphogenetic juvenile hormone (JH), significantly enhanced soldier caste differentiation. When …