The dufour gland and the secretion placed on eggs of two species of social wasps,Liostenogaster flavolineata andParischnogaster jacobsoni (vespidae: Stenogastrinae)

Abstract

The secretion placed on eggs and fed to larvae and the "ant guard" placed on the nest stalk ofParischnogaster jacobsoni contain the same hydrocarbons and in approximately the same proportions as is found in the Dufour gland. The secretion on eggs is a mixture of the contents of the Dufour gland and nectar. The emulsifying agent is a palmitic acid salt. Similarly, inLiostenogaster flavolineata, the egg secretion is an emulsion of nectar and Dufour gland secretion, which contains alkoxyethanol emulsifiers, found in nature for the first time.