title: Secretions of stingless bees: the Dufour gland of Nannotrigona testaceicornis.
abstract: The Dufour gland of Nannotrigona testaceicornis is a large, wide, pear-shaped sac. The gland secretion consists chiefly of the diterpene ester all-trans-geranylgeranyl acetate (64% of the total), together with a complex mixture of small amounts of cyclic ketals; mono-, sesqui-, and diterpene compounds; acetates; and other oxygenated compounds. Samples of N. testaceicornis collected at two sites in Brazil and one in México shared the same composition of their glands, suggesting that the species is uniform over this wide geographical area.
authors.affiliation: El Colegio de la Frontera Sur Carretera Antiguo Aeropuerto Km. 2.5 Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, CP 30700, AP 36.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cruz-López
authors.forename: E F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Patricio
authors.forename: E D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Morgan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000378:metabolism; D001938:Brazil; D005088:Exocrine Glands / Q000378:metabolism*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008800:Mexico; D008854:Microscopy, Electron / Q000662:veterinary; D008956:Models, Chemical