The morphology of the pygidial glands and the chemical composition of their secretions of four sphodrine ground beetle species (Carabidae: Platyninae)

• Published in: Journal of insect physiology Vol. 158; p. 104685
• Main Authors: Vranić, Sofija, Vujisić, Ljubodrag, Vesović, Nikola, Todosijević, Marina, Pantelić, Dejan, Pavlović, Danica, Ivanović, Stefan, Vasović, Marija, Ćurčić, Srećko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-10-2024
• Subjects: Abdominal gland; Allomone; Carabidae; Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; Nonlinear microscopy; Sphodrini; Nonlinear microscopy; Carabidae; Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry; Abdominal gland; Sphodrini; Allomone; Allomon
• ISSN: 0022-1910; 1879-1611; 1879-1611
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2024.104685

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•Pygidial gland morphology and their products in the four Sphodrini species were investigated.•The glands were examined using both bright-field and nonlinear microscopy.•Altogether, 30 compounds were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.•Two of the detected compounds were new for ground beetles.
Ground beetles possess a pair of pygidial glands that produce and release secretions that play an important role in defense against predators. The morphology of these glands and the chemical composition of their products were studied in four species of the tribe Sphodrini: Calathus (Calathus) fuscipes (Goeze, 1777), C. (Neocalathus) cinctus Motschulsky, 1850, C. (N.) melanocephalus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Laemostenus (Antisphodrus) elongatus (Dejean, 1828). The morphological analyzes of the glands of the four taxa mentioned were carried out for the first time using bright-field and nonlinear microscopy. All morphological structures were precisely measured and photographed. The pygidial gland secretions of C. (C.) fuscipes and L. (A.) elongatus were analyzed for the first time using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 30 compounds were detected from the extracts of pygidial gland secretions of the four Sphodrini species studied. The simplest chemical mixture was found in L. (A.) elongatus, while the most complex secretion was that of C. (C.) fuscipes. 1-Undecanol, which we were able to detect in all taxa examined here, and dodecyl butyrate, which was detected in the three Calathus species, have never before been detected in the secretions of ground beetles.