Chemotaxonomy of some Cataglyphis ants from Morocco and Burkina Faso

The taxonomy of Cataglyphis ants has many unsolved problems and chemotaxonomy can provide additional insight for their resolution. We describe here the chemical content of the postpharyngeal and Dufour glands of three Cataglyphis ant species: C. viaticus, C. mauritanicus from Morocco and for the first time a Sub-Saharan Cataglyphis, C. sp. (BF) from Burkina Faso. These three species are very distinct chemically with respect to both the postpharyngeal and Dufour glands. Methyl-alkenes, rare in ants, are characteristic of C. sp. (BF) postpharyngeal glands. A comparison with C. bicolor from Tunisia indicated that C. sp. (BF) can be included into the bicolor group with C. viaticus. We suggest that the content of the Dufour gland is a better phylogenetic indicator than the content of the postpharyngeal gland.