title: Defensive and pheromonal secretion of the tergal gland of Aleochara curtula : I. The chemical composition.
abstract: The defensive secretion from the tergal gland of the staphylinid beetle,Aleochara curtula, acting as a supplementary mating stimulant, was investigated by gas-liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and IR spectroscopy. The reservoir contains a complex mixture of hydrocarbons, aliphatic aldehydes, and substituted 1,4-benzoquinones.n-Undecane, 1-undecene, and (Z)-4-tridecene were identified as the major hydrocarbon components. The main aldehydes aren-dodecanal and (Z)-5-tetradecenal, and the chief quinones are toluquinone and 2-methoxy-3-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone, the latter being established structurally by comparison of the mass spectra of the three synthesized isomers. Quantitative GLC analyses revealed no sex specificity of the relative concentrations of the compounds.
authors.affiliation: Zoologisches Institut III der Universität Würzburg, Röntgenring 10, D-8700, Würzburg.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Peschke
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Metzler