Pheromones in social wasps

Abstract

Social wasps need an efficient communication system to coordinate their members in the numerous activities of the colony. In this regard, the chemical channel is the most utilized by social wasps to transfer information in intraspecific (pheromones) and interspecific (allomones) communication. In this chapter, we reviewed the main chemical substances which mediate recognition between colony members and coordinate nest defense, alarm and recruitment. Due to their central role in the colonial life, the majority of pheromones have been identified and their functions have been deeply investigated in many species. On the contrary, sex pheromones which are the most studied in insects, have been quite neglected in social wasps.