Defensive behaviour and biological activities of the abdominal secretion in the ant Crematogaster scutellaris (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae)

Regioselective Multicomponent Synthesis of 2,4,6‐Trisubstituted Phenols from Fischer Alkynyl Carbene Complexes

“…A similar trend was observed for alkynes with electron-donating groups in the aromatic substituent, which gave better yields than those with electron-withdrawing groups ( Table 1, entries [3][4][5].…”

“…This pathway is not active for cyclohexadienols 6 when R 2 is aromatic or another alkyl substituent (6f, for instance, would lead to a highly stressed ring if the double bond were formed). In particular, 6o did not give 10n as the major product, maybe because the chlorine atom exerts a withdrawing effect on the electron density in the chain, preventing the [1,5]-sigmatropic rearrangement of the hydrogen (to form E).…”

“…Phenols are an extraordinary class of organic compounds that occur in a wide range of organisms, including prokaryotes, [1] algae, [2] lichen, [3] fungi, [4] insects, [5] and even mammals. [6] These compounds are important in the defense against predators and in other survival strategies; [7] they also have synthetic applications (mimetic studies of metalloenzymes and the construction of bulky protecting groups), [8,9] and applications as anticancer drugs, [10] antioxidants, [11] biopesticides, [12] tannins, [13] and as flavor enhancers for beverages.…”

Multicoloniality in the highly polygynous ant Crematogaster pygmaea (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

“…All the workers tested were collected in the foraging area of laboratory colonies. The encounter was scored as aggressive if at least one of the following interactions was observed during the 5 min period: grips (from 1 s to several minutes), strong gaster flexions with or without application of defensive secretion, prolonged bites (see Marlier et al, 2004 andQuinet et al, 2005 for a detailed description of typical defensive behaviour of Crematogaster ants). After each experiment, the Petri dish was carefully cleaned with 90°C ethanol and dried to remove any chemical signals left by the workers.…”

Antibacterial properties of contact defensive secretions in neotropical Crematogaster ants

“…Crematogaster contact venoms seem to be used primarily as repellent and toxic secretions in interference competition with other ants, as demonstrated in species from South America (C. rochai Forel, 1903, C. distans Mayr, 1879 and C. pygmaea Forel, 1904) and Europe [C. scutellaris (Olivier, 1792)] (11,12).…”