Substances used/produced by arthropods for self-protection against different kinds of infectious agents, e.g., oxalic acid is ingested with food and excreted. The poison pederin is a polyketide, which is produced by symbiotic bacteria and contained in motile stages and eggs of some insects. Canthadirin (terpen anhydride) is produced by the endangered insects and excreted in cases of attacks of enemies. Cetonacytone acts similar which is produced by Actinomyces in the intestine of beetles.
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Further Reading
Dettner K (2011) Potential pharmaceuticals from insects. In: Vilcinskas A (ed) Insect biotechnology. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 95–119
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Mehlhorn, H. (2015). Allomones. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_4916-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27769-6_4916-1
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