Animals communicate with each other using a variety of signal modalities, any of which can provide useful information to non-intended receivers, or eavesdroppers. Eavesdropping on chemical signals is a widespread phenomenon but its role in shaping the behavior of multi-species assemblages is poorly known. Here, we tested the hypothesis that workers of multiple Neotropical ant species change their behaviors when exposed to odors of the common canopy ant, Azteca trigona. We exposed workers of 16 canopy ant species (five subfamilies) to A. trigona alarm pheromones and compared their behavioral responses to the behavior of ants in control treatments (ambient air). Seven species showed distinct responses to A. trigona odors relative to the control. The most common behavioral responses were increased antennation and running. The results of this study suggest that eavesdropping on heterospecific alarm signals allows ants to avoid generalized threats or negative interactions with aggressive A. trigona workers. Such eavesdropping presumably is selectively advantageous and may determine local arboreal ant species distributions and interspecific differences in access to resources in the forest canopy.

动物使用各种信号方式相互交流，其中任何一种都可以为非预期接收者或窃听者提供有用的信息。窃听化学信号是一种普遍现象，但其在塑造多物种组合行为方面的作用却鲜为人知。在这里，我们测试了以下假设：当接触到常见的树冠蚂蚁Azteca trigona 的气味时，多种新热带蚂蚁物种的工人会改变他们的行为。我们将 16 种树冠蚂蚁（5 个亚科）的工人暴露于A。trigona警报信息素，并将它们的行为反应与对照处理（环境空气）中的蚂蚁行为进行比较。七个物种对A表现出不同的反应。三角架气味相对于对照。最常见的行为反应是增加触角和奔跑。这项研究的结果表明，窃听异种特异性警报信号可以让蚂蚁避免普遍威胁或与攻击性A 的负面互动。trigona工人。这种窃听可能是有选择性的优势，可以确定当地树栖蚂蚁物种的分布和获取森林冠层资源的种间差异。