CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION OF FOOTPRINTS AND CU TICULA LIPIDS OF 3 SPECIES OF LADY BEETLES

Lady beetle can walk on a vertically smooth surface such as a glass pl ate in the same manner as on a horizontal one. It was reported that th e insect probably released a non-volatile lipid secretion from the spa tulate ends of the tenent hairs and this secretion was essential to th e adhesion process on smooth surfaces against the force of gravity. We have studied footprint chemicals which were secreted from the tenent hairs of the three species of lady beetles Epilachna vigintiocotomacul ta, Epilachna vigintioctopunctata and Coccinella septempunctata. The c omponent of footprints was species specific and consisted of hydrocarb ons and true waxes. The footprint chemicals were just identical with t hose of the cuticular waxes. The waxes of footprints were secreted lar ger amount from the tarsus than that from cuticular surface.