Fig. 4.

Role of egg volatiles as an attractant pheromone. (A) Addition of nBnB and 2M1B to TERP (consisting of lysozyme and β-glucosidase) significantly increased the rate at which dummy eggs were piled up. Dummy eggs coated only with nBnB and 2M1B were not carried into egg piles. Different letters indicate significant differences among treatments (P < 0.05, Tukey's HSD). (B) Proposed functions of nBnB and 2M1B from female reproductives and eggs. These volatiles serve as an attractant to locate eggs and female reproductive and also act to inhibit the differentiation of female neotenics from nymphs and workers. Values denote the mean ± SEM of 15 replications (five replications × three colonies).