Open Access
How to translate text using browser tools
1 February 2008 Sexual Dimorphism in the Antennal Lobe of the Ant Camponotus japonicus
Michiko Nishikawa, Hiroshi Nishino, Yuko Misaka, Maiko Kubota, Eriko Tsuji, Yuji Satoji, Mamiko Ozaki, Fumio Yokohari
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The carpenter ant, a social hymenopteran, has a highly elaborated antennal chemosensory system that is used for chemical communication in social life. The glomeruli in the antennal lobe are the first relay stations where sensory neurons synapse onto interneurons. The system is functionally and structurally similar to the olfactory bulbs of vertebrates. Using three-dimensional reconstruction of glomeruli and subsequent morphometric analyses, we found sexual dimorphism of the antennal lobe glomeruli in carpenter ants, Camponotus japonicus. Female workers and unmated queens had about 430 glomeruli, the highest number reported so far in ants. Males had a sexually dimorphic macroglomerulus and about 215 ordinary glomeruli. This appeared to result from a greatly reduced number of glomeruli in the postero-medial region of the antennal lobe compared with that in females. On the other hand, sexually isomorphic glomeruli were identifiable in the dorsal region of the antennal lobe. For example, large, uniquely shaped glomeruli located at the dorso-central margin of the antennal lobe were detected in all society members. The great sexual dimorphism seen in the ordinary glomeruli of the antennal lobe may reflect gender-specific tasks in chemical communications rather than different reproductive roles.

Michiko Nishikawa, Hiroshi Nishino, Yuko Misaka, Maiko Kubota, Eriko Tsuji, Yuji Satoji, Mamiko Ozaki, and Fumio Yokohari "Sexual Dimorphism in the Antennal Lobe of the Ant Camponotus japonicus," Zoological Science 25(2), 195-204, (1 February 2008). https://doi.org/10.2108/zsj.25.195
Received: 20 July 2007; Accepted: 1 October 2007; Published: 1 February 2008
KEYWORDS
glomeruli
Hymenoptera
insect brain
isomorphism
macroglomerulus
social insects
Back to Top