DEFENSE BY USE OF A PROTEINACEOUS GLUE - WOODLICE VS. ANTS

Authors
DESLIPPE RJ JELINSKI L EISNER T
Citation
Rj. Deslippe et al., DEFENSE BY USE OF A PROTEINACEOUS GLUE - WOODLICE VS. ANTS, Zoology, 99(3), 1996, pp. 205-210
Citations number
17
Categorie Soggetti
Zoology
Journal title
Zoology → ACNP
ISSN journal
09442006
Volume
99
Issue
3
Year of publication
1996
Pages
205 - 210
Database
ISI
SICI code
0944-2006(1996)99:3<205:DBUOAP>2.0.ZU;2-9
Abstract
The woodlouse Oniscus asellus (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscoidea), when d isturbed, discharges droplets of a sticky fluid from a pair of project ions (uropods) at its rear. The fluid coagulates on exposure to air, a nd acts effectively to entangle attacking ants. Analyses showed the se cretion to be proteinaceous and unusually rich in glycine and proline. Its coagulation may be due to a polymerization process.