Soldier formation regulated by a primer pheromone from the soldier frontal gland in a higher termite, Nasutitermes
1Equipe de Recherche Associée, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique No. 231, Faculté des Sciences, Laboratoire de Zoologie, Boulevard Gabriel, 21100 Dijon, France.
Abstract:
In the nasute higher termite Nasutitermes lujae, the differentiation of new soldiers is suppressed or delayed by the soldiers themselves. Experimental data strongly suggest that this inhibitory effect results from the action of a primer pheromone secreted by the frontal gland of soldiers. The pheromone must be contacted directly. Thus, the frontal gland of termite soldiers assumes a new role in addition to alarm and defense, although this extension cannot be generalized to all termite species. The soldier inhibitory pheromone is evidently only one of multiple factors contributing soldier regulation in termite societies.
