The basitarsal sulcus gland, a novel exocrine structure in ants

Billen, Johan; Khalife, Adam; Ito, Fuminori; Anh, Nguyen Duc; Esteves, Flavia A.

doi:10.1016/j.asd.2021.101041

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Ant legs have shown an astonishing variety with 20 different glands (Billen 2009), a number that has recently even been updated to 25 (Billen et al 2021). These can be found in all leg segments from coxa to the pretarsal tip.…”

Section: Thoracic Glandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of the exocrine glands in workers of the ant Leptanilla clypeata

2022

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Our morphological study of the exocrine system in workers of Leptanilla clypeata revealed the presence of at least 23 glands. Among these, the dorsoproximal intramandibular gland represents a novel structure for social insects. Another novel gland may exist in the ventral part of the postpetiolus; both the petiole and postpetiole contain conspicuous clusters of large gland cells. The occurrence of three epithelial glands associated with the 5 th , 6 th and 7 th abdominal sternites clearly differs from the single sternal gland that occurs in other Leptanilla species or the related Protanilla. Several glands could be observed in the legs, although their number probably is an underrepresentation of the real situation. The function of most glands is still unknown and forms a challenge for further behavioural studies when live material of these elusive ants may become available again in future.

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Section: Thoracic Glandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survey of the exocrine glands in workers of the ant Leptanilla clypeata

2022

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“…Ant trail substances are produced by different glands mostly located in the distal part of the abdomen (the gaster), depending on the subfamily typically but not exclusively: Dufour's gland in Myrmicinae; hindgut in Formicinae and Ecitoninae; Pavan's gland in Dolichoderinae; sternal glands in Aneuretinae 10 , 12 . However, special locations for gland sources of trail pheromones have been reported, for example in different portions of the legs for a few species 13 . This is the case of the myrmicine genus Crematogaster, whose trail pheromone is released by the tibial glands 14 , 15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trail pheromone identification in the ant Crematogaster scutellaris

Scarano,

Giannetti,

Trenti

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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In this work, we identified the trail pheromone of the ant Crematogaster scutellaris. We combined gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of extracts from the hind tibia, the location of the respective glands, with automated trail following assays. The study found tridecan-2-ol to be the strongest discriminator between hind tibia and other body part extracts. Tridecan-2-ol elicited trail-following behaviour at concentrations of 1 ng/µL. A separation of the enantiomers showed responses to (R)-tridecan-2-ol already at 0.001 ng/µL and only at a 1000-fold higher concentration for (S)-tridecan-2-ol, suggesting that only the R enantiomer is used by C. scutellaris in its natural environment. We also found strong behavioural responses to 2-dodecanol, a substance that was not detectable in the hind tibia extract of C. scutellaris, but which has been reported to be the trail pheromone of the related species C. castanea. We discuss the contribution of these results to the 'dissection and reconstruction' of strategies and mechanisms underlying the social organization of ants.

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“…Despite the high number of EG in ants, more are described regularly (Wang et al 2021a, 2021b). Even with behavioral observations it often proves difficult to clarify gland function (Billen et al 2021), with even some presumed EG’s being disproved after close histological inspection (Wang et al 2021c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Social glands’ in parasitoids? – convergent evolution of metapleural glands in Hymenoptera

Ulmer

Mikó

Richter

et al. 2023

Insect Systematics and Diversity

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For over a century, the metapleural gland, an exocrine gland above the hind coxa, has been thought to be a unique structure for ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and regarded as a catalyst for the ecological and evolutionary success of the family. This gland is one of the most researched exocrine glands in arthropods and its anatomy, ultrastructure, and chemistry are well documented. Herein, we describe an exocrine gland from the proctotrupoid wasp Pelecinus polyturator (Hymenoptera: Pelecinidae) with a similar position, structure, and chemistry to the ant metapleural gland: it is located just above the hind coxa, corresponds to an externally concave and fenestrated atrium, is composed of class 3 gland cells, and its extract contains relatively strong acids. We discover that the pelecinid gland is associated with the dilator muscle of the first abdominal spiracle, a trait that is shared with ants, but remained overlooked, possibly due to its small diameter, or obfuscation by the extensive metapleural gland. We also provide a biomechanical argument for passive emptying of the gland in both taxa. Pelecinids and ants with metapleural glands share a close association with soil. The pelecinid metapleural gland might therefore also have an antiseptic function as suggested for ants. We examined 44 other Hymenoptera families and found no glands associated with the oclusor apodeme or any signs of external modification. Our results strongly indicate that this complex trait (anatomical & chemical) evolved independently in ants and pelecinid wasps providing an exceptional system to better understand exocrine gland evolution in Hymenoptera.

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The basitarsal sulcus gland, a novel exocrine structure in ants

Cited by 5 publications

References 39 publications

Survey of the exocrine glands in workers of the ant Leptanilla clypeata

Survey of the exocrine glands in workers of the ant Leptanilla clypeata

Trail pheromone identification in the ant Crematogaster scutellaris

‘Social glands’ in parasitoids? – convergent evolution of metapleural glands in Hymenoptera

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