ArticlePloS one2017
The relationship between epicuticular long-chained hydrocarbons and surface area - volume ratios in insects (Diptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera).
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Worker Body Size Drives Cuticle Thickness and Higher Relative Intensity of the Lipid Reaction in the Leaf-Cutting Ants Atta laevigata and Atta sexdens.Neotropical entomology · 2026Article
- Thermal buffering in a sessile insect herbivore.The Journal of experimental biology · 2026Article
- Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profile of Parasitic Beetles,Insects · 2021Article
- Chemical and behavioral integration of army ant-associated rove beetles - a comparison between specialists and generalists.Frontiers in zoology · 2018Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Long-chain cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) are common components of the epicuticle of terrestrial arthropods. CHC serve as a protective barrier against environmental influences but also act as semiochemicals in animal communication. Regarding the latter aspect, species- or intra-functional group specific CHCs composition and variation are relatively well studied. However, comparative knowledge about the relationship of CHC quantity and their relation to surface area-volume ratios in the context of water loss and protection is fragmentary. Hence, we aim to study the taxon-specific relationship of the CHC amount and surface-area to volume ratio related to their functional role (e.g. in water loss). We focused on flower visiting insects and analyzed the CHC amounts of three insect orders (Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). We included 113 species from two grassland plots, quantified their CHCs, and measured their body mass and surface area. We found differences in the surface area, CHCs per body mass and the CHC density (= amount of CHCs per surface area) across the three insect taxa. Especially the Hymenoptera had a higher CHC density compared to Diptera and Lepidoptera. CHC density could be explained by surface area-volume ratios in Hymenoptera but not in Diptera and Lepidoptera. Unexpectedly, CHC density decreased with increasing surface area-volume ratios.
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