Leaf-marking pheromone in Atta cephalotes

This marking of food, or rather the substrate for the fungus that produces the larval food, has not been found yet outside leaf-cutting ants, and may be unique to that group. However, chain transport, the relaying of food from one worker to another over long distances, is quite common (Wilson, 1971), and may involve similar types of communication. 

Compared with aggressive and recruitment behavior, literature on the involvement of chemical signals in sexual behavior and reproduction in ants is scarce. This is probably because sexual activity in ants is normally restricted to a few days in the year, and is not easily induced in the laboratory. Two aspects will be discussed here, the bringing together of the sexes prior to mating, and the control of reproductive activities by queens. 

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