Chemistry of a Mating Plug in Bumblebees

@article{Baer2004ChemistryOA,
  title={Chemistry of a Mating Plug in Bumblebees},
  author={B. Baer and R. Maile and P. Schmid-Hempel and E. Morgan and G. R. Jones},
  journal={Journal of Chemical Ecology},
  year={2004},
  volume={26},
  pages={1869-1875}
}
In the bumblebee B. terrestris males transfer a mating plug into the queen's sexual tract shortly after sperm transfer. The plug is a sticky, opaque secretion of the male accessory gland. In order to clarify the meaning of the mating plug, we collected the plug substance directly from the male's accessory gland and identified the chemical substances present with gas chromatography. The main compounds found in the mating plug were four fatty acids (palmitic, linoleic, oleic, and stearic acids… Expand
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