Abstract
The carpenter ant which is a social insect depends on olfactory (chemical) cues for most of the communication between the nestmates. The care of the worker is essential for a larval survival of the carpenter ant. Brooding behavior of workers accumulating larvae lying scattered under the queen is the altruistic behavior which is essential in social maintenance. The development of this brood-accumulation behavior in a worker requires ‘social experience’ in early time after the eclosion. The essence of this behavior is olfactory attention switching.
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Acknowledgments
Most of what I described here are results of research brought about by the ideas and the passion of students of Tokyo Gakugei University which we studied together more than a decade. I want to show gratitude to them heartily.
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Hara, K. (2014). Social Association Brings Out the Altruism in an Ant. In: Witzany, G. (eds) Biocommunication of Animals. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7414-8_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7414-8_9
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