Novel wax esters and hydrocarbons in the cuticular surface lipids of the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus

The cuticular surface lipids of the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatu s, were found to contain minor amounts of novel wax eaters, in addition to the major components, hydrocarbons. The wax esters ranged in carbon number from C19 to C31 and consisted of eaters of both odd- and even-numbered alco hols and acids. Each wax ester with a given carbon number eluted at several different retention times indicating possible methyl branching in either t he fatty acid or alcohol moiety, or in bath moieties. Each eluting peak of wax esters consisted of a mixture of wax eaters of the same carbon number i n which the fatty acid moiety ranged from Cs to C18, and the alcohol moiety ranged from C8 to C17. Some wax esters were largely found on the head indi cating they may be of a glandular origin. The hydrocarbons consisted of: n- alkanes, C23 to C33; odd-numbered n-alkenes, C27 to C35; and the major comp onents, methyl-branched alkanes, C26 to over C49. Notable components of the methyl-branched alkanes were 2-methyltriacontane, and the novel trimethyla lkanes with a single methylene between the first and second branch points, 13,15,19-trimethylhentriacontane and 13,15,21-trimethyltritriacontane. Publ ished by Elsevier Science Inc.