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Fontanellar Gun
The fontanellar gun is a defense mechanism in the form of a horn-like frontal projection (''nasus'') on the head of the soldier caste which is capable of expelling chemical weaponry at a distance, a trait exclusive to the subfamily Nasutitermitinae. It is primarily used to ward off predators such as ants. Physiology and usage The "gun" is a gland with a duct on the front of the head. It operates by a chemical reaction triggered when the termite contracts its mandibular muscles. The termite is "able to eject the frontal gland material over a distance of many centimeters". The gland material is forced out through the front of the internal nose and its pores, which covers much of the termite's head. Termites have been shown to be extremely accurate with the gun, even though they are blind. The exact nature of how termites retain such accuracy and are able to orient themselves toward their enemy is currently unknown, but it is believed that the ability is "olfactory or auditory" in n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alarm Pheromone
A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavior of the receiving individuals. There are ''alarm pheromones'', ''food trail pheromones'', ''sex pheromones'', and many others that affect behavior or physiology. Pheromones are used by many organisms, from basic unicellular prokaryotes to complex multicellular eukaryotes. Their use among insects has been particularly well documented. In addition, some vertebrates, plants and ciliates communicate by using pheromones. The ecological functions and evolution of pheromones are a major topic of research in the field of chemical ecology. Background The portmanteau word "pheromone" was coined by Peter Karlson and Martin Lüscher in 1959, based on the Greek φερω ''pheroo'' ('I carry') and ὁρμων ''hormon'' ('stimulating'). Pheromones are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pine Resin
In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on naturally occurring resins. Plants secrete resins for their protective benefits in response to injury. The resin protects the plant from insects and pathogens. Resins confound a wide range of herbivores, insects, and pathogens, while the volatile phenolic compounds may attract benefactors such as parasitoids or predators of the herbivores that attack the plant. Composition Most plant resins are composed of terpenes. Specific components are alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, delta-3 carene, and sabinene, the monocyclic terpenes limonene and terpinolene, and smaller amounts of the tricyclic sesquiterpenes, longifolene, caryophyllene, and delta-cadinene. Some resins also contain a high proportion of resin acids. Rosins on the other hand are less ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Limonene
Limonene is a colorless liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic monoterpene, and is the major component in the oil of citrus fruit peels. The -isomer, occurring more commonly in nature as the fragrance of oranges, is a flavoring agent in food manufacturing. It is also used in chemical synthesis as a precursor to carvone and as a renewables-based solvent in cleaning products. The less common -isomer has a piny, turpentine-like odor, and is found in the edible parts of such plants as caraway, dill, and bergamot orange plants. Limonene takes its name from Italian ''limone'' ("lemon"). Limonene is a chiral molecule, and biological sources produce one enantiomer: the principal industrial source, citrus fruit, contains -limonene ((+)-limonene), which is the (''R'')-enantiomer. Racemic limonene is known as dipentene. -Limonene is obtained commercially from citrus fruits through two primary methods: centrifugal separation or steam distillation. Chemical reaction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrcene
Myrcene, or β-myrcene, is a monoterpene. A colorless oil, it occurs widely in essential oils. It is produced mainly semi-synthetically from ''Myrcia'', from which it gets its name. It is an intermediate in the production of several fragrances. α-Myrcene is the name for the isomer 2-methyl-6-methylene-1,7-octadiene, which has not been found in nature. Production Myrcene is often produced commercially by the pyrolysis (400 °C) of β-pinene, which is obtained from turpentine. It is rarely obtained directly from plants. Plants biosynthesize myrcene via geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP), which isomerizes into linalyl pyrophosphate. The release of the pyrophosphate (OPP) and a proton completes the conversion. Occurrence It could in principle be extracted from any number of plants, such as verbena or wild thyme, the leaves of which contain up to 40% by weight of myrcene. Many other plants contain myrcene, sometimes in substantial amounts. Some of these include cannabis, hops, ''Hou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinene
Pinene is a collection of unsaturated bicyclic monoterpenes. Two geometric isomers of pinene are found in nature, α-pinene and β-pinene. Both are chiral. As the name suggests, pinenes are found in pines. Specifically, pinene is the major component of the liquid extracts of conifers. Pinenes are also found in many non-coniferous plants such as camphorweed (''Heterotheca'') and big sagebrush ('' Artemisia tridentata''). Isomers Biosynthesis α-Pinene and β-pinene are both produced from geranyl pyrophosphate, via cyclisation of linaloyl pyrophosphate followed by loss of a proton from the carbocation equivalent. Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Joint BioEnergy Institute have been able to synthetically produce pinene with a bacterium. Plants Alpha-pinene is the most widely encountered terpenoid in nature and is highly repellent to insects. Alpha-pinene appears in conifers and numerous other plants. Pinene is a major component of the essen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terpene
Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n > 1. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predominantly by plants, particularly conifers. Terpenes are further classified by the number of carbons: monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (C15), diterpenes (C20), as examples. The terpene alpha-pinene, is a major component of the common solvent, turpentine. History and terminology The term ''terpene'' was coined in 1866 by the German chemist August Kekulé to denote all hydrocarbons having the empirical formula C10H16, of which camphene was one. Previously, many hydrocarbons having the empirical formula C10H16 had been called "camphene", but many other hydrocarbons of the same composition had had different names. Kekulé coined the term "terpene" in order to reduce the confusion. The name "terpene" is a shortened form of "terpentine", an obsolete spelling of "turpentine". Although sometimes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psyche (entomological Journal)
''Psyche'' is a scientific journal of entomology which was established in 1874 by the Cambridge Entomological Club as a "journal for the publication of biological contributions upon Arthropoda from any competent person". The name of the journal is derived from the Ancient Greek word for butterfly. The journal has been published since 1874 (with gaps from 1886 to 1887, 1995 to 1999, and 2000 to 2007). In 2007 the Club transferred the journal to the Hindawi Publishing Corporation, and it became an open-access journal in 2008, with articles distributed online under the Creative Commons Attribution License. Almost all back issues were scanned and are available online as PDF files. History Samuel Hubbard Scudder proposed to start an "Organ of the Cambridge Entomological Club" at its fourth meeting. When ''Psyche'' began publication, its first editor was B. P. Mann. Its articles concentrated on general anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defense In Insects
Insects have a wide variety of predators, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, carnivorous plants, and other arthropods. The great majority (80–99.99%) of individuals born do not survive to reproductive age, with perhaps 50% of this mortality rate attributed to predation. In order to deal with this ongoing escapist battle, insects have evolved a wide range of defense mechanisms. The only restraint on these adaptations is that their cost, in terms of time and energy, does not exceed the benefit that they provide to the organism. The further that a feature tips the balance towards beneficial, the more likely that selection will act upon the trait, passing it down to further generations. The opposite also holds true; defenses that are too costly will have a little chance of being passed down. Examples of defenses that have withstood the test of time include hiding, escape by flight or running, and firmly holding ground to fight as well as producing chemicals and social s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terpenes
Terpenes () are a class of natural products consisting of compounds with the formula (C5H8)n for n > 1. Comprising more than 30,000 compounds, these unsaturated hydrocarbons are produced predominantly by plants, particularly conifers. Terpenes are further classified by the number of carbons: monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (C15), diterpenes (C20), as examples. The terpene alpha-pinene, is a major component of the common solvent, turpentine. History and terminology The term ''terpene'' was coined in 1866 by the German chemist August Kekulé to denote all hydrocarbons having the empirical formula C10H16, of which camphene was one. Previously, many hydrocarbons having the empirical formula C10H16 had been called "camphene", but many other hydrocarbons of the same composition had had different names. Kekulé coined the term "terpene" in order to reduce the confusion. The name "terpene" is a shortened form of "terpentine", an obsolete spelling of "turpentine". Although sometim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirement of William P. Sisler in 2017, the university appointed as Director George Andreou. The press maintains offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts near Harvard Square, and in London, England. The press co-founded the distributor TriLiteral LLC with MIT Press and Yale University Press. TriLiteral was sold to LSC Communications in 2018. Notable authors published by HUP include Eudora Welty, Walter Benjamin, E. O. Wilson, John Rawls, Emily Dickinson, Stephen Jay Gould, Helen Vendler, Carol Gilligan, Amartya Sen, David Blight, Martha Nussbaum, and Thomas Piketty. The Display Room in Harvard Square, dedicated to selling HUP publications, closed on June 17, 2009. Related publishers, imprints, and series HUP owns the Belknap Press ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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