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Several Aspects of Chemistry Insects have m

Insects have many enemies, including birds, small mammals, reptiles, and other insects (Insect, 2003). Most insects are armed to ward off attack from other insects, including having weapons of chemical warfare. These include the stings of bees, wasps, and some ants, the poison sprayed by the bombardier beetle, and a foul-tasting yellow fluid given off by ladybugs when attacked. The bombardier beetle stores two separate chemicals - hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide - that are kept separate until the beetle is threatened. When threats occur, the two liquids are squirted through two tubes, where they are mixed together, and a small amount of catalytic enzymes is added. This causes a violent exothermic reaction to take place, and a boiling-hot (more than 2100F) and poisonous mixture is formed which can cause painful blisters on the skin of humans.

A perfect example of chemical warfare among insects is the wasp Inchneumon eumerus, which hunts out the caterpillar of Maculinea rebeli, a rare, large, blue butterfly found in Alpine pastures (Highfield, 2002). This caterpillar lives in a nest of Myrmica schencki antÆs, mimicking the red antÆs larvae behavior and scent signals. The wasp must negotiate the antÆs nest to reach the caterpillar and lay its eggs in it. To distract the soldier ants, the wasp releases a chemical that first attracts the ants and then causes them to become very aggressive and fight among themselves. While the ants are busy fighting each other, the wasp goes into the nest and lays here eggs in the Maculinea caterpillar. The new generation of wasps hatch eleven months later from the hostÆs pupae.

Six components have been isolated from the waspÆs chemical discharge (Highfield, 2002). Four of these compounds had not been found before by biologists. When presented to ants, four of these components invoked at least one significant response. One of the components caused ants who touched it to run away...

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Several Aspects of Chemistry Insects have m. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:00, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1700879.html