Smedley Scott R, Schroeder Frank C, Weibel Douglas B, Meinwald Jerrold, Lafleur Katie A, Renwick J Alan, Rutowski Ronald, Eisner Thomas
Department of Biology, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 May 14;99(10):6822-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.102165699. Epub 2002 May 7.
Larvae of the European cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae (Pieridae), are beset with glandular hairs, bearing droplets of a clear oily secretion at their tip. The fluid consists primarily of a series of chemically labile, unsaturated lipids, the mayolenes, which are derived from 11-hydroxylinolenic acid. In bioassays with the ant Crematogaster lineolata, the secretion was shown to be potently deterrent, indicating that the fluid plays a defensive role in nature.
欧洲粉蝶(粉蝶科)的幼虫布满了腺毛,腺毛顶端带有清澈的油性分泌物液滴。这种液体主要由一系列化学性质不稳定的不饱和脂质——马约烯组成,这些脂质源自11-羟基亚麻酸。在对细纹举腹蚁进行的生物测定中,这种分泌物显示出很强的威慑作用,表明该液体在自然界中起到防御作用。