The objective of our project was to identify the sex attractant pheromone of queens of the slave-making ant Polyergus samurai, which was characterized as a blend of methyl 6-methylsalicylate and methyl 3-ethyl-4-methylpentanoate. Both compounds were identified in volatiles collected from squashed heads of queens, and in field trials, a blend of the two compounds was highly attractive to males. In contrast, males were not attracted to a blend of methyl 6-methylsalicylate with 3-ethyl-4-methylpentanol. Thus, the pheromone blend of this species is analogous to that of species in the Polyergus lucidus complex from eastern North America, rather than that of the Polyergus breviceps complex from western North America and the European species P. rufescens. These results are discussed in the context of speciation within the genus.

中文翻译：

---

日本奴隶蚂蚁的性吸引信息素。

我们项目的目的是确定奴隶制蚂蚁武士的女王的性吸引剂信息素，其特征是6-甲基水杨酸甲酯和3-乙基-4-甲基戊酸甲酯的混合物。两种化合物均在从被压榨的皇后头收集的挥发物中鉴定出，并且在田间试验中，两种化合物的混合物对雄性非常有吸引力。相反，雄性没有被6-甲基水杨酸甲酯与3-乙基-4-甲基戊醇的混合物所吸引。因此，该物种的信息素共混物类似于北美东部的Polyergus lucidus复合体中的物种，而不是北美西部和欧洲物种的Polyergus breviceps复合体中的信息素混合物。P. rufescens。这些结果在属内物种形成的背景下讨论。