Abstract
ABSTRACTLeafcutter ants communicate with the substrate-borne component of the vibratory emission produced by stridulation. Stridulatory signals in the genus Atta have been described in different behavioural contexts, such as foraging, alarm signalling and collective nest building. Stridulatory vibrations are employed to recruit nestmates, which can localize the source of vibration, but there is little information about the underlying mechanisms. Our experiments reveal that time-of-arrival delays of the vibrational signals are used for tropotactic orientation in Atta sexdens. The detected time delays are in the same range as the time delays detected by termites. Chemical communication is also of great importance in foraging organization, and signals of different modalities may be combined in promoting the organization of collective foraging. Here we show that the tropotactic orientation to vibrational signals interacts with chemical communication signals.
Highlights
Substrate-borne vibrations play a crucial role in the communication in many insect groups (Cocroft and Rodríguez, 2005)
Vibration receptors are positioned in all six legs, which would be suitable for directional vibration sensing and vibrotropotactic orientation if time and/or amplitude differences are large enough to be processed in their central nervous system (Čokl et al, 2006; Virant-Doberlet et al, 2006)
The only insect for which it has been demonstrated that the direction of a source of vibration on solid substrates can be perceived through simultaneous comparisons of the signal arriving at the legs is the termite Macrotermes natalensis
Summary
Substrate-borne vibrations play a crucial role in the communication in many insect groups (Cocroft and Rodríguez, 2005). Among others, they are used in the context of mate location, prey location and predator avoidance. The only insect for which it has been demonstrated that the direction of a source of vibration on solid substrates can be perceived through simultaneous comparisons of the signal arriving at the legs is the termite Macrotermes natalensis. Experiments with two movable platforms allowing vibration of the legs of the left and right sides of the body with a time delay, showed that the difference in time-of-arrival is the directional cue used for orientation. Delays as short as 0.2 ms are sufficient to be detected (Hager and Kirchner, 2014)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
