title: Males of a solitary wasp possess a postpharyngeal gland.
abstract: The postpharyngeal gland has long been thought to occur only in ants. Here we characterize, by use of light and electron microscopy as well as 3D reconstruction based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging data, a large cephalic gland reservoir of males of a solitary digger wasp, the European beewolf, Philanthus triangulum. Several lines of evidence suggest that this reservoir is a postpharyngeal gland. The gland reservoir originates from the posterior part of the pharynx and consists of two pairs of unbranched tubular structures that occupy a large portion of the head capsule. Its wall is composed of a unicellular epithelium that is lined by a cuticle. The gland contains a blend of hydrocarbons and compounds with functional groups, and we show that the hydrocarbon fraction of the pheromone is congruent with the hydrocarbons on the cuticle. We discuss the implications of our findings for the evolution of the postpharyngeal gland in ants.
authors: Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology, University of Würzburg, Biozentrum, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany. gudrun.herzner@biologie.uni-regensburg.de
authors: Gudrun
authors: G
authors: Herzner
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Goettler
authors: Johannes
authors: J
authors: Kroiss
authors: Armin
authors: A
authors: Purea
authors: Andrew G
authors: AG
authors: Webb
authors: Peter M
authors: PM
authors: Jakob
authors: Wolfgang
authors: W
authors: Rössler
authors: Erhard
authors: E
authors: Strohm
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D008297:Male; D012919:Social Behavior; D014863:Wasps / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics