CHEMICAL RELEASERS OF SOCIAL BEHAVIOR. 
X. AN ATTINE TRAIL SUBSTANCE IN THE VENOM 
OF A NON-TRAIL LAYING MYRMICINE, 
DACETON ARMIGERUM (LATREILLE) 1 . 
By M. S. Blum 2 
and 
C. A. PORTOCARRERO 2 ’ 3 
Although the poison gland secretion may provide species in several 
myrmicine genera with a readily available source of odor trail phero- 
mone, this venom does not represent a highly species-specific secretion. 
It has been demonstrated recently that odor trails prepared from 
extracts of the poison gland are non-specific even among unrelated 
genera, although specificity may be absolute when these extracts are 
tested on species in the same genus (Blum and Ross, 1965). The 
lack of specificity of the poison gland extracts appears to be due to 
the fact that trace constituents, which are common to different venoms, 
are employed by different genera as odor trail releasers. Thus, al- 
though members of two genera may be employing different trail sub- 
stances, they will follow trails prepared from each other’s poison 
glands because their odor trail compounds are present in both venoms. 
Since some of the trace compounds in the venoms synthesized by un- 
related trail-laying myrmicines appear to be similar, it would not 
be surprizing if the venom of a non-trail laying species contained a 
trace constituent which was the same as the odor trail pheromone 
employed by trail-laying members of this subfamily. The purpose 
of this present paper is to report on the occurrence of just such a 
case. Daceton armigerum (Latreille) a primitive member of the 
tribe Dacetini, contains in its venom a powerful releaser of trail 
following for membeis of three attine genera as well as for an inqui- 
line cockroach which is associated with one of these genera. 
The biology of Daceton has been studied in detail by Wilson 
(1962). Daceton workers hunt singly and no evidence of trail laying 
or recruitment was observed either in the field or in the laboratory. 
The large eyes of Daceton workers appear to endow them with 
This work was supported in part from two grants from the University 
Council on Research of Louisiana State University 
department of Entomology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 
Louisiana. 
3 Present address: Department of Communications, Michigan State Uni- 
versity, East Lansing, Michigan. 
Manuscript received by the editor June 29, 1966. 
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