Signal evolution and cuticular hydrocarbon communication

Insect societies provide an excellent opportunity to study the evolution of olfactory signals. Especially the use of cuticular hydrocarbons as queen pheromones in ants and other eusocial insects matches the sender-precursor model of signal evolution. We study the function of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles in reproductive regulation and individual recognition to derive general rules of olfactory signal evolution.

Dynamics of the organization of insect societies

The key to the success of insect societies is their organization. The defining feature of these societies is the reproductive division of labor, i.e. some individuals focus on reproduction while other colony members raise the brood and maintain the nest. Usually the reproductive individuals are queens that differ in morphology from their helper workers. However, some species have monomorphic colony members or workers have the ability to replace the queen in their function as primary egg-layer. We study the factors that govern the formation of hierarchies and lead to the social stability of a colony with one or several established reproductive. We use these studies to find rules that generally apply to the organization of societies.  

Collaborative projects

The lab collaborates regularly with other groups. A past focus was genomics and epigenetics of ant and termite societies. Current projects target the deciphering of the olfactory code and the mechanisms of developmental plasticity of ants.