Quantitative variation in chemical defense within and among subgenera of Cicindela

• Published in: Journal of chemical ecology Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 451 - 472
• Main Authors: Kelley, K.C. (University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.), Schilling, A.B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Springer 01.03.1998; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: ALDEHIDOS; ALDEHYDE; ALDEHYDES; ANALISIS CUANTITATIVO; ANALYSE QUANTITATIVE; Animal and plant ecology; ANIMAL GLANDS; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; BENZALDEHYDE; Biological and medical sciences; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION; COLEOPTERA; COMPOSICION QUIMICA; COMPOSITION CHIMIQUE; DEFENCE MECHANISMS; FILOGENIA; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; GLANDE ANIMALE; GLANDULAS ANIMALES; Mass spectrometry; MECANISME DE DEFENSE; MECANISMOS DE DEFENSA; PHYLOGENIE; PHYLOGENY; PREDATOR DETERRENCE; Protozoa. Invertebrata; QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS; SECRECION; SECRETION; Defensive secretion; Coleoptera; Insecta; Interspecific comparison; Benzaldehyde; Gas chromatography; Arthropoda; Cicindelidae; Repellent; Chemical composition; Predator; Invertebrata; Mass spectrometry; Quantitative analysis
• ISSN: 0098-0331; 1573-1561
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1022308702032

The pygidial secretions of more than 40 species of adult Cicindela were quantitatively assayed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the presence of benzaldehyde, the major defensive compound of cicindelids. All species showed evidence of benzaldehyde secretion, with the range in benzaldehyde spanning three orders of magnitude. Subgenera, species, and subspecies all accounted for a significant portion of the total variation in benzaldehyde secretion, while populations within subspecies sampled at different localities did not vary significantly; thus phylogenetic analyses of be appropriate. The evidence suggests that a single origin of the pathway producing benzaldehyde occurred in the ancestors of Cicindela spp. and that differences among taxa in the amount of benzaldehyde secreted are the result of changes in that pathway's regulation