Accessory gland

Many anthicid species are known to be canthariphilous [121]. After take up, males store the toxin in the accessory glands and transfer it as a kind of nuptial gift to the females. Many male anthicid species are characterized by ely tral exocrine glands which serve for excretion of cantharidin depending on the cantharidin titre. Similar to Pyrochroidae (see there) females test the cantharidin load of males before copulation and select those males which previously were able to incorporate this precious defensive compound from exogenous sources. 

Attractive Compounds. The female-produced sex pheromone of the yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, is (R)-4-methyl- 1-nonanol [316] 163 (Scheme 18). Careful investigations on the biosynthesis of this compound [317] revealed that it is produced through a modification of normal fatty acid biosynthesis (Fig. 1, Fig. 2) propanoate serves as the starter, while formal chain elongation with acetate, propanoate, and acetate (accompanied by removal of the oxygens) produces 4-methylnonanoate which yields the pheromone alcohol after reduction. The structures and role of proteins that are present in the hemolymph or secreted by the tubular accessory glands of T. molitor, and that may carry lipophilic chemical messengers (like pheromones) are under investigation [318,319]. 

Seminal fluid arises from secretions of accessory glands. 

The prostate gland and the seminal vesicles secrete the bulk of the fluid. The sources, contents and functions of the secretions from the accessory glands are given in Table 19.1. 

Wolfner M. F. (1997) Tokens of love functions and regulation of Drosophila male accessory gland products. Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 27, 179-192. 

Yamamoto K., Chadarevian A. and Pelligrini M. (1988) Juvenile hormone action mediated in male accessory glands of Drosophila by calcium and kinase C. Science 239, 916— 919. 

Piulachs M. D., Maestro J. L. and Belles X. (1992) Juvenile hormone production and accessory gland development during sexual maturation of male Blattella germanica (L.) (Dictyoptera, Blattellidae). Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A 102, 477 -80. 

Hillery A. E. and Fell R. D. (2000) Chemistry and behavioral significance of rectal and accessory gland contents in Camponotus pennsylvanicus (Hymenoptera formicidae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 93, 1294-1299. 

Duportets L., Dufour M. C., Couillaud F. and Gadenne C. (1998) Biosynthetic activity of corpora allata, growth of sex accessory glands and mating in the male moth Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel). J. Exp. Biol. 201, 2425-2432. 

The reason for this may be that there is now evidence to show that the corpora cardiaca (CC) secretes a peptide (12) which stimulates amino acid uptake by the gland. Furthermore, many attempts to demonstrate that JH is present in the pregnant tsetse have so far failed. Activity of the large sexual accessory gland of alla-tectomized Perlplaneta amerlcana is also inhibited iu vivo by 20-OHE 03). 

The accessory gland tubules of the male cricket Grvllus bimaculatus (36) contract spontaneously, but they also receive... 

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