Rank/status/dominance

In other rodents, subordinate males also smell scent marks quite often and so keep informed on the presence, status and activities of higher-ranking group members. For instance, dominant males of the hispid cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus, urine mark more than subordinates. The social status of the male urine donor affects the response of other males to the odor. The response of a reproductive female to feces of either sex depends on her dominance status (Gregory and Cameron, 1989). 

The social organization of insect colonies indicates the importance of information that is usually not needed in solitary insects. Information about the presence and fertility of a queen strongly affects worker behavior and colony organization. Reproductive competition in colonies requires the correct assessment of each others rank. All of this information about fertility status and/or dominance status can be encoded in the cuticular hydrocarbon profile of members of ant, wasp, and bee colonies. Understanding variations in these hydrocarbon profiles, their composition, and relation to fertility is key to the further understanding of the major property of eusocial insects, reproductive division of labor. 

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