Effect of Juvenile Hormone on Worker Behavioral Transition in the Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

文献类型： 外文期刊

第一作者： Ren, Qilin

作者： Ren, Qilin;Ma, Lin;Zhang, Xiaolong;Zhang, Lei;Jiang, Xingfu;Chen, Libiao;Mao, Zhigang;Li, Dongdong

作者机构：

关键词： juvenile hormone; Solenopsis invicta; social insects; nurse worker; behavioral transition; brood care behavior; phototaxis

期刊名称：INSECTS （ 影响因子：3.0； 五年影响因子：3.1 ）

ISSN：

年卷期： 2023 年 14 卷 12 期

页码：

收录情况： SCI

摘要： The division of labor among workers is a defining characteristic of social insects and plays a pivotal role in enhancing the competitive advantage of their colony. Juvenile hormone (JH) has long been hypothesized to be the essential driver in regulating the division of labor due to its ability to accelerate behavioral transitions in social insects, such as honeybees. The regulation of behavioral transitions by JH in the red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta, a typical social pest, is unclear. Through video capture and analysis, we investigated the effects of the juvenile hormone analogue (JHA) methoprene on brood care, phototaxis behavior, and threat responsiveness of RIFA nurse workers. Our results showed that the JHA application significantly reduced the time and frequency of brood care behavior by nurse workers while increasing their walking distance and activity time in the light area. Additionally, the application of JHA made ants become excited, indicating a significant improvement in their activity level (movement distance, time, and speed). Furthermore, it was observed that the application of JHA did not affect the threat responsiveness of nurse workers towards stimuli (nestmates or non-nestmates). Our study demonstrates that the application of JHA reduced brood care behavior and enhanced phototaxis in nurse workers, which may reveal the role of JH in facilitating behavioral transitions in RIFA from intranidal tasks to extranidal activity. This study provides an experimental basis for further elucidating the mechanism underlying the division of labor in social insects.

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