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Age-Dependent Changes in the Chemistry of Exocrine Glands of Bombus terrestris Queens

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Abstract

Extracts of three different glands (mandibular, labial, and Dufour’s) of virgin Bombus terrestris queens at ten different ages (1–8, 12, and 18 days) were analyzed for chemical composition. One hundred and twenty-seven compounds were identified in the extracts. The mandibular and labial glands contained previously reported electroantennogram-active compounds (3-hydroxydecanoic acid, fatty acids of different chain lengths, their esters, and heptacosene). These compounds reached a maximum concentration in 3- to 7-d-old queens. Geranylcitronellol was found in both labial and Dufour’s glands. Its amount was inversely correlated to age of queens.

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Acknowledgement

This work was financially supported by the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (project No. 2B06007), by the Grant Agency of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (project No. A4055403), and by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (research project No. Z40550506). The authors wish to thank Robert Hanus for his help with statistics, and Marketa and Joseph T. Foley for the language corrections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo nám. 2, 166 10, Praha 6, Czech Republic

    Klára Urbanová, Oldřich Hovorka & Irena Valterová

  2. Department of Chemistry of Natural Compounds, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technická 5, 166 28, Praha, Czech Republic

    Klára Urbanová & Lucie Cahlíková

  3. Department of Animal Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 637 11, Brno, Czech Republic

    Vladimír Ptáček

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  1. Klára Urbanová
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  2. Lucie Cahlíková
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  3. Oldřich Hovorka
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  4. Vladimír Ptáček
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  5. Irena Valterová
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Correspondence to Irena Valterová.

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Urbanová, K., Cahlíková, L., Hovorka, O. et al. Age-Dependent Changes in the Chemistry of Exocrine Glands of Bombus terrestris Queens. J Chem Ecol 34, 458–466 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9456-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-008-9456-9

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