Chemistry of the Postpharyngeal Gland of Female European Beewolves

Females of the European beewolf, Philanthus triangulum, possess a large glove-shaped gland in the head, the postpharyngeal gland (PPG). They apply the content of the PPG to their prey, paralyzed honeybees, where it delays fungal infestation. Here, we describe the chemical composition of the gland by...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical ecology 2008-05, Vol.34 (5), p.575-583
Main Authors: Strohm, Erhard, Herzner, Gudrun, Kaltenpoth, Martin, Boland, Wilhelm, Schreier, Peter, Geiselhardt, Sven, Peschke, Klaus, Schmitt, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
(Z)-9-heptacosene
(Z)-9-pentacosene
Agriculture
alkenes
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
antifungal properties
Apis mellifera
Autoecology
Bees
Biochemistry
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Microscopy
Biomedical and Life Sciences
chemical composition
chemical dimorphism
Chemical ecology
Ecology
Entomology
exocrine glands
Female
females
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Fungi
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Hydrocarbons
Insects
Life Sciences
Pharynx - chemistry
Philanthus
Philanthus triangulum
Predation
predator-prey relationships
Prey
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Saturated hydrocarbons
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
Unsaturated hydrocarbons
Wasps - chemistry
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Females of the European beewolf, Philanthus triangulum, possess a large glove-shaped gland in the head, the postpharyngeal gland (PPG). They apply the content of the PPG to their prey, paralyzed honeybees, where it delays fungal infestation. Here, we describe the chemical composition of the gland by using combined GC-MS, GC-FTIR, and derivatization. The PPG of beewolves contains mainly long-chain unsaturated hydrocarbons (C23-C33), lower amounts of saturated hydrocarbons (C14-C33), and minor amounts of methyl-branched hydrocarbons (C17-C31). Additionally, the hexane-soluble gland content is comprised of small amounts of an unsaturated C25 alcohol, an unknown sesquiterpene, an octadecenylmethylester, and several long-chain saturated (C25, C27) and unsaturated (C23-C27) ketones, some of which have not yet been reported as natural products. Surprisingly, we found a dimorphism with regard to the major component of the PPG with some females having (Z)-9-pentacosene, whereas others have (Z)-9-heptacosene as their predominant component. The biological relevance of the compounds for the prevention of fungal growth on the prey and the significance of the chemical dimorphism are discussed.
ISSN:0098-0331
1573-1561
DOI:10.1007/s10886-008-9447-x