Ants use odour cues to exploit fig–fig wasp interactions

Abstract

Fig wasps may constitute a relatively abundant food source for ants associated with the fig–fig wasp nursery pollination mutualism. We found previously that a Mediterranean ant species detects fig wasps by chemical signals. In this paper we want to test the generality of this finding by studying two tropical ants, Oecophylla smaragdina and Crematogaster sp., preying on fig wasps on the dioecious Ficus fistulosa in Brunei (Borneo). Behavioural tests in a Y-tube olfactometer showed that these two ants were attracted both to odours emitted by receptive figs and to those emitted by fig wasps (male and female of the pollinator, and a non-pollinating fig wasp) used here as a kairomone. Naïve workers were not attracted to fig wasps, suggesting that olfactory learning may play a role in prey detection. We also found that O. smaragdina was much more likely to be present on figs of male trees (where fig wasps are more abundant), and that the abundance of this ant species varied strongly with developmental phase of figs on individual trees. Moreover, its aggressiveness was also strongly influenced by the nature of the object presented in our behavioural tests, the site of the test and the developmental phase of the fig tested. Investigation on the chemical and behavioural ecology of the different interacting species provides important insights into the intricate relationships supported by the fig–fig wasp mutualism.