Strohm, Erhard and Kaltenpoth, M. and Herzner, G. (2010) Is the postpharyngeal gland of a solitary digger wasp homologous to ants? Evidence from chemistry and physiology. INSECTES SOCIAUX, 57 (3). pp. 285-291. ISSN 0020-1812,
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
The postpharyngeal gland (PPG) was thought to be restricted to ants where it serves a crucial function in the generation of the colony odour. Recently, head glands that closely resemble the PPG of ants were discovered in females of a solitary digger wasp, the European beewolf. The function of this gland necessarily differs from ants: beewolf females apply the secretion of their PPG onto the bodies of paralysed honeybees that serve as larval provisions in order to delay fungus growth. Since ants and digger wasps are not closely related, the occurrence of this gland in these two taxa might either be due to convergent evolution or it is a homologous organ inherited from a common ancestor. Here we test the hypothesis that the PPGs of both taxa are homologous by comparing characteristics of chemical composition and physiology of the PPG of beewolves and ants. Based on reported characteristics of the PPG content of ants, we tested three predictions that were all met. First, the PPG of beewolves contained mainly long-chain hydrocarbons and very few compounds with functional groups. Second, the composition of hydrocarbons in the beewolf PPG was similar to that of the hemolymph. Taking the structure of the gland epithelium and the huge requirements of beewolf females for gland secretion into account this result suggests that the content of the PPG is also sequestered from the hemolymph in beewolves. Third, the chemical composition of the PPG and the cuticle was similar in beewolves since cuticular hydrocarbons derive either from the hemolymph or the PPG. Taking the considerable morphological similarities into account, our results support the hypothesis of a homologous origin of the PPG in beewolves and ants.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | FEMALE EUROPEAN BEEWOLVES; PHILANTHUS-TRIANGULUM; CATAGLYPHIS-NIGER; HYDROCARBON CIRCULATION; PACHYCONDYLA-APICALIS; NESTMATE RECOGNITION; SOLENOPSIS-INVICTA; SOCIAL GLAND; COLONY ODOR; HYMENOPTERA; European beewolf; Philanthus triangulum; Postpharyngeal gland; Hydrocarbons |
| Subjects: | 500 Science > 590 Zoological sciences |
| Divisions: | Biology, Preclinical Medicine > Institut für Zoologie > Evolutionary Ecology (Prof. Dr. Erhard Strohm) |
| Depositing User: | Dr. Gernot Deinzer |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Jul 2020 09:34 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Jul 2020 09:34 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/24392 |
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