Vranić Sofija, Vesović Nikola, Antonijević Lana, Vlajić Aleksandar, Todosijević Marina, Pavlović Danica, Pantelić Dejan, Ćurčić Srećko, Vujisić Ljubodrag
University of Belgrade - Faculty of Biology, Studentski Trg 16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
University of Belgrade - Faculty of Chemistry, Studentski Trg 12-16, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia.
Zoology (Jena). 2024 Jan;162:126142. doi: 10.1016/j.zool.2024.126142. Epub 2024 Jan 3.
Pygidial glands are a common feature of all adephagans and their products play an important role in defense against predators. The morphology of the pygidial glands and the chemistry of their secretion were studied for the first time in two species of tiger beetles - Cicindela (Cicindela) sylvicola Dejean, 1822 and Cylindera (Cylindera) germanica (Linnaeus, 1758). The glands were examined by both bright-field microscopy and nonlinear microscopy. All morphological structures of the glands were measured and described in detail. The structures mentioned were compared with those of related taxa. The secretion extracts from the pygidial glands of the investigated taxa contained a total of 24 compounds, which were detected by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The secretion mixture of C. (C.) germanica was more complex (21 chemicals) than that of C. (C.) sylvicola (11 ones). Benzaldehyde was present in both secretion samples. Hydrocarbons were the most abundant group of secretory compounds. The purpose of the compounds, their distribution within the subfamily Cicindelinae and their effects on the ecology of the group were discussed.
臀腺是所有肉食亚目昆虫的共同特征，其分泌物在抵御捕食者方面发挥着重要作用。首次对两种虎甲——1822年的西尔维科虎甲（Cicindela (Cicindela) sylvicola Dejean）和1758年的德国圆柱虎甲（Cylindera (Cylindera) germanica (Linnaeus)）的臀腺形态及其分泌物化学进行了研究。通过明场显微镜和非线性显微镜对腺体进行了检查。对腺体的所有形态结构进行了测量并详细描述。将上述结构与相关类群的结构进行了比较。通过气相色谱-质谱联用仪（GC-MS）检测到，所研究类群的臀腺分泌提取物共含有24种化合物。德国圆柱虎甲（C. (C.) germanica）的分泌混合物（21种化学物质）比西尔维科虎甲（C. (C.) sylvicola）的（11种）更复杂。两种分泌样品中均存在苯甲醛。烃类是分泌化合物中含量最丰富的一类。讨论了这些化合物的作用、它们在虎甲亚科内的分布及其对该类群生态学的影响。
