Recent studies have investigated the composition of compounds that cover the cuticle in social insects, but few studies have focused on solitary bees. Cuticular hydrocarbons may provide a tool for chemotaxonomy, and perhaps they can be used as a complement to morphology and genetic characters in phylogenetic studies. Orchid bees (Tribe Euglossini) are a highly diverse group of Neotropical bees ...

We investigated the relationship between epicuticular and internal hydrocarbons in the adult house fly, Musca domestica and the distribution of hydrocarbons, including the female sex pheromone component, (Z)-9-tricosene, in tissues. Internal hydrocarbons increased dramatically in relation to sexual maturation and were found in the hemolymph, ovaries, digestive tract, and fat body. (Z)-9-Tricose...

An unusual mechanism for hydrocarbon biosynthesis is proposed from work examining the formation of (Z)-9-tricosene (Z9-23:Hy), the major sex pheromone component of the female housefly, Musca domestica. Incubation of (Z)-15-[1-14C]- and (Z)-15-[15,16-3H2]tetracosenoic acid (24:1 fatty acid) with microsomes from houseflies gave equal amounts of [3H]Z9-23:Hy and 14CO2. The formation of CO2 and not...

The SPME (Solid Phase Microextraction) analysis of the scent H. hircinum showed presence elemicin in a relevant amount eugenol. sample adriaticum collected Abruzzo 4-amino-5-(4-morpholinylmethyl)-2-oxazolidinone, ?-ocimene, decyl decanoate, and 9-tricosene as main components. at Marsico Nuovo has an aroma where component was pentadecyl hexanoate, 9-tricosene, methyleugenol, tetradecane, pentade...

House flies (Musca domestica L.) are major disease spreading vectors in variety of both outdoor and indoor conditions, especially near livestock farms domestic waste disposal landfills. Presently no effective choices available for the control house as these flies’ have developed resistance to all synthetic pesticides. Pheromone traps play a vital role fly management conditions. The present stud...

The waggle dance of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) foragers communicates to nest mates the location of a profitable food source. We used solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to show that waggle-dancing bees produce and release two alkanes, tricosane and pentacosane, and two alkenes, Z-(9)-tricosene and Z-(9)-pentacosene, onto their abdomens and into t...

Sexual behavior requires animals to distinguish between the sexes and to respond appropriately to each of them. In Drosophila melanogaster, as in many insects, cuticular hydrocarbons are thought to be involved in sex recognition and in mating behavior, but there is no direct neuronal evidence of their pheromonal effect. Using behavioral and electrophysiological measures of responses to natural ...

We determined the quantity and chemical composition of cuticular hydrocarbons of different strains, sex and age of buffalo flies, Haematobia exigua. The quantity of cuticular hydrocarbons increased from less than 1 μg/fly for newly-emerged flies to over 11 μg/fly in 13 d-old flies. The hydrocarbon chain length varied from C21 to C29, with unbranched alkanes and monounsaturated alkenes the major...

During mating, male Drosophila melanogaster transfer to the female's cuticle a compound (7-tricosene) that is almost absent from virgin females but is the major hydrocarbon component of the male's cuticle. During the first 3 hr after mating, the amount of 7-tricosene on a female decreases sharply but remains significantly above virgin levels. By 6 hr after mating, female synthesis of 7-tricosen...