Intraspecific and Intracolonial Variation in the Profile of Venom Alkaloids and Cuticular Hydrocarbons of the Fire Ant Solenopsis saevissima Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Table 3

Relative abundance (%) of cuticle hydrocarbons from random worker samples of Solenopsis saevissima varieties A (𝑛=5) and B (𝑛=13) obtained from different nests from three different states in Brazil (see Figure 1). Values given in bold were tested for each species variety using Students’ 𝑡-test, and differing means were attributed to different letters.

Cuticular hydrocarbon	S. saevissima variety A	S. saevissima variety B
C23	—	12.16 ± 2.48
11-Me-C23	—	2.10 ± 0.69
3-Me-C23	—	21.42 ± 1.94
C24	—	1.75 ± 0.51
12-Me-C24 + 11-Me-C24	—	0.77 ± 2.21
C25:1	8.52 ± 3.32 a	50.74 ± 6.69 b
C25	4.06 ± 2.47 a	4.38 ± 0.95 a
11-Me-C25	9.73 ± 2.19 a	2.198 ± 0.89 b
3-Me-C25	12.91 ± 1.60 a	5.66 ± 0.84 b
C26	3.24 ± 1.70 a	tr
C27:1	25.49 ± 8.47	tr
C27	4.04 ± 2.30	tr
13-Me-C27	24.19 ± 7.98	tr
11,15-DiMe-C27	2.00 ± 1.27	—
3-Me-C27	3.23 ± 0.62	—
13,15-DiMe-C27	4.48 ± 1.65	—
C30	2.01 ± 0.24	—
Total	100.00	100.00

Notes: (—): not found; (tr): trace amounts. For information on the compounds, collection sites, and species varieties, refer to narrative.