Sodium uptake by puddling in a moth.

Male Lepidoptera commonly visit stands of water to drink, a behavior known as puddling. Males of the notodontid moth Gluphisia septentrionis routinely puddle for hours, imbibing hundreds of gut-loads and voiding the fluid as repetitive anal jets. Cationic analyses showed puddling to lead to systemic sodium gain, a potential benefit to Gluphisia, whose larval food plant is low in sodium. Male Gluphisia are specialized for puddling, possessing a wide oral slit and a highly expanded enteric surface. The acquired sodium is transferred to the female at mating, for eventual incorporation into the eggs. Sodium acquisition may be the primary function of puddling in Lepidoptera.

Mongoose throwing and smashing millipedes.

African millipedes of the genus Sphaerotherium coil into tight spheres when disturbed. Their tough skeletal armor offers protection against some predators, but not against the African banded mongoose Mungos mungo, which smashes them by hurling them against rock.

Cantharidin: potent feeding deterrent to insects.

Cantharidin, the well-known terpenoid compound from the blood of blister beetles (and active principle of Spanish fly), is a feeding deterrent to insects, effective at a concentration of 10(-5) molar.

Mimicry of hymenoptera by beetles with unconventional flight.

Flower-visiting beetles of the genus Acmaeodera (Buprestidae) bear a striking resemblance to Hymenoptera in flight. Unlike most other beetles, they fly with their membranous hindwings only, and their forewings, which are inseparably coupled and permanently held over the abdomen, bear color markings commonly found on the abdomens of bees and wasps.

Sex pheromone of the queen butterfly: biology.

Males of the queen butterfly Danaus gilippus berenice, deprived of the two extrusible brushlike "hairpencils" at the rear of their abdomen, are capable of courting females but incapable of seducing them. In normal courtship, an aphrodisiac secretion associated with the hairpencils is transferred by way of tiny cuticular "dust" particles to the antennae of the females. Of the two substances identified from the secretion, one (the ketone) acts as the chemical messenger that induces the females to mate. The only known function of the other compound (the diol) is to serve as a glue that sticks the dust to the female. Males were reared under conditions in which they produced subnormal amounts of ketone and showed reduced seductive capacity. Under certain experimental circumstances, the competence of these males was restored by addition of synthetic ketone.

Spray aiming in bombardier beetles: jet deflection by the coanda effect.

Bombardier beetles of the carabid subfamily Paussinae have a pair of flanges, diagnostic for the group, that project outward from the sides of the body. Behind each flange is a gland opening, from which the beetles discharge a hot, quinone-containing secretion when disturbed. The flanges are curved and grooved and serve as launching guides for anteriorly aimed ejections of secretion. Jets of fluid, on emergence from the gland openings, follow the curvature of the flanges and are thereby bent sharply in their trajectory and directed forward. The phenomenon is illustrative of the Coanda effect, widely applicable in engineering and responsible for the familiar tendency of liquids to curve around spouts and down the front of containers when being poured.

Vein-cutting behavior: insect counterploy to the latex defense of plants.

Many mandibulate insects that feed on milkweeds, or other latex-producing plants, cut leaf veins before feeding distal to the cuts. Vein cutting blocks latex flow to intended feeding sites and can be viewed as an insect counteradaptation to the plant's defensive secretion. Experimental vein severance renders milkweed leaves edible to generalist herbivores that do not show vein-cutting behaviors and ordinarily ignore milkweeds in nature.

Spider web protection through visual advertisement: role of the stabilimentum.

The conspicuous white silken adornments known as stabilimenta, which are commonly found in the orb webs of some spiders, appear to be protective devices that warn birds of the presence of webs in their flight path. Webs endowed with artificial equivalents of stabilimenta tended to survive intact the early morning period when birds are on the wing; unmarked webs showed a high incidence of destruction.

Red cochineal dye (carminic Acid): its role in nature.

Carminic acid, the well-known red dyestuff from cochineal insects (Dactylopius spp.), is a potent feeding deterrent to ants. This deterrency may be indicative of the natural function of the compound, which may have evolved in cochineals as a chemical weapon against predation. The behavior of an unusual predator is described-the carnivorous caterpillar of a pyralid moth (Laetilia coccidivora)-which is undeterred by carminic acid and feeds on cochineals. The animal has the remarkable habit of utilizing the ingested carminic acid for defensive purposes of its own.

Tanning of grasshopper eggs by an exocrine secretion.

Eggs of the grasshopper, Romalea microptera, are laid in a tightcluster, encased within a matrix of hardened froth. When first laid, the eggs are yellow and soft, and the froth is white and lathery. During subsequent hours, eggs and froth undergo a tanning process, as a result of which they harden and darken. An exocrine secretion, supplied by a pair of glands situated beside the gonopore, is mixed with the froth as the eggs are laid, and serves to promote tanning. Similar glands are found in some, but not all grasshoppers.

Defensive use of a "fecal shield" by a beetle larva.

The larva of Cassida rubiginosa carries a tight packet of cast skins and feces on a fork held over its back. The packet is a maneuverable shield used by the larva to protect itself against attack. It is highly effective in blocking the bite of ants.

1,2-Dialkyl-4(3H)-quinazolinones in the defensive secretion of a millipede (Glomeris marginata).

Two crystalline components isolated from the defensive secretion of the glomerid millipede, Glomeris marginata, are identified as 1- methyl- 2- ethyl- 4( 3H)- quinazolinone and 1,2- dimethyl- 4( 3H)- quinazolinone. These heterocyclic compounds bear a close structural resemblance to arborine, the chief alkaloid of the Indian medicinal plant, Glycomis arborea Correa.

Herbivore-plant interactions: mixed-function oxidases and secondary plant substances.

The mixed-function oxidases of a polyphagous insect larva (the southern armyworm, Spodoptera eridania) were found to be induced by a diversity of secondary plant substances. The induction proceeds rapidly and in response to a small quantity of secondary substance. Following induction, the larva is less susceptible to dietary poisoning. It is argued that mixed-function oxidases play a major role in protecting herbivores against chemical stress from secondary plant substances.

"Wolf-in-Sheep's-Clothing" Strategy of a Predaceous Insect Larva.

The larva of the green lacewing Chrysopa slossonae lives in colonies of the wooly alder aphid Prociphilus tesselatus upon which it feeds. It disguises itself as its prey by plucking some of the waxy "wool" from the bodies of the aphids and applying this material to its own back. The investiture protects it from assault by the ants that ordinarily "shepherd" the aphids. Larvae artifically denuded are seized by the ants and removed from the aphid colonies. A larva requires on the average less than 20 minutes to coat itself with wax. A hungry denuded larva gives the coating procedure about the same behavioral priority as feeding.

Dihydromatricaria acid: acetylenic acid secreted by soldier beetle.

The aposematic cantharid beetle Chauliognathus lecontei produces a defensive secretion, from glands in its thorax and abdomen, containing 8-cis-dihydromatricaria acid. Similar acetylenic compounds are known only from certain fungi and flowering plants.

2,5-Dichlorophenol (from ingested herbicide?) in defensive secretion of grasshopper.

The defensive froth emitted by the grasshopper Romalea microptera contains several odorous compounds (phenols, terpenes, benzoquinone), including a chlorinated aromatic compound, 2,5-dichlorophenol. This compound, which is repellent to ants and therefore defensively useful to the grasshopper, probably stems from herbicide or herbicide derivative ingested by the insect with its diet. Although there is precedent for the defensive employ by one species of chemical agents produced by another, no instance was known involving secondary utilization of a pesticide dispensed by man.

Flavonols: pigments responsible for ultraviolet absorption in nectar guide of flower.

The petals of the black-eyed susan (Compositae: Rudbeckia hirta) contain three flavonol glucosides (6,7-dimethoxy-3',4',5-trihydroxyflavone-3-O-glucoside, patulitrin, and quercetagetin). These compounds, which show intense spectral absorption at 340 to 380 nanometers, are restricted in distribution to the petal bases, which are ultraviolet absorbing as a result. Such ultraviolet-absorbing petal zones, known as "nectar guides," are invisible to us, but are visible and of orientation value to the pollinating insect that lands on the flower in search for food. This is the first time that ultraviolet absorption in a nectar guide has been interpreted in chemical terms. In view of the widespread occurrence of flavonols in flowers, it is suggested that these pigments serve specifically for demarcation of ultraviolet petal patterns visible and relevant to insects.

Defense of phalangid: liquid repellent administered by leg dabbing.

The phalangid Vonones sayi has a pair of exocrine defensive glands that secrete quinones (2,3-dimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone and 2,3,5-trimethyl-1,4- benzoquinone). When distributed, the animal emits the secretion, dilutes it with aqueous regurgitated fluid, and effects dosaged delivery of the mixture by brushing it on the assailant with the tips of its forelegs. Predators such as ants are effectively repelled.

Cyclopentanoid terpene biosynthesis in a phasmid insect and in catmint.

The stick insect, Anisomorpha buprestoides, and the catmint, Nepeta cataria, produce closely related cyclopentanoid terpenes, anisomorphal and nepetalactone. Tracer experiments with isotopes indicate that anisomorphal is synthesized by the walking stick from normal terpene precursors (acetate or mevalonate). In the catmint plant, isolated leaf disks synthesized nepetalactone, utilizing the same precursors.

Biochemistry at 100{degrees}C: Explosive Secretory Discharge of Bombardier Beetles (Brachinus).

The defensive chemical spray of bombardier beetles is ejected at 100 degrees C, with a heat content of about 0.2 calorie per milligram.