4-Methyl-3-Heptanone: Identification and Function in Neoponera villosa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

Studies on the chemistry of ant-alarm pheromones have been essentially restricted to those produced by species in the subfamilies Myrmicinae, Dolichoderinae and Formicinae (Blum and Brand 1972) and, as a consequence, there is virtually no information available pertaining to the chemistry of these pheromones in the more primitive subfamilies. We report here on the mandibular-gland secretion of Neoponera villosa (F.),² a species in the subfamily Ponerinae, one of the most primitive of the formicid taxa.