Strohm, Erhard and Herzner, Gudrun and Goettler, Wolfgang (2007) A 'social' gland in a solitary wasp? The postpharyngeal gland of female European beewolves (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae). ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT, 36 (2). pp. 113-122. ISSN 1467-8039,
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Exocrine glands play an important role in maintaining the integrity of colonies of social Hymenoptera. The postpharyngeal gland (PPG) of ants is crucial for the generation of a nest odour that enables nestmate recognition. The evolutionary history of this gland is unknown and it was thought to be restricted to ants. Here we describe an exocrine head gland in females of a solitary crabronid wasp, the European beewolf, Philanthus triangulum, that resembles the PPG of ants in many respects. The newly described gland has the same location and the same glove like shape as in ants, and it also has a monolayered epithelium with similar ultrastructure. Unlike in ants, the epithelium bears hairs that reach into the lumen of the gland. Although the PPG of beewolves serves a completely different function it is also associated to an allogrooming behaviour as in ants. Based on these morphological and behavioural similarities as well as similarities in the chemical composition of the content of the PPG of both taxa, we hypothesise that the PPGs of ants and beewolves have a common evolutionary origin. Thus, our results Suggest that the PPG in ants might not have evolved in response to social requirements but might have already existed in solitary predecessors. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | TRIANGULUM F HYMENOPTERA; ANT CATAGLYPHIS-NIGER; ANTENNAL GLANDS; PARENTAL INVESTMENT; SOLENOPSIS-INVICTA; CHEMICAL-ANALYSIS; COLONY ODOR; FIRE ANT; FORMICIDAE; SPHECIDAE; Philanthus triangulum; Crabronidae; Sphecidae; Formicidae; postpharyngeal gland; exocrine gland |
| 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: | 02 Dec 2020 14:51 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Dec 2020 14:51 |
| URI: | https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/32635 |
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