Insect Hydrocarbons

A unique and critical analysis of the wealth of research conducted on the biology, biochemistry and chemical ecology of the rapidly growing field of insect cuticular hydrocarbons. Authored by leading experts in their respective fields, the twenty chapters show the complexity that has been discovered in the nature and role of hydrocarbons in entomology. Covers, in great depth, aspects of chemistry (structures, qualitative and quantitative analysis), biochemistry (biosynthesis, molecular biology, genetics, evolution), physiology, taxonomy, and ecology. Clearly presents to the reader the array of data, ideas, insights and historical disagreements that have been accumulated during the past half century. An emphasis is placed on the role of insect hydrocarbons in chemical communication, especially among the social insects. Includes the first review on the chemical synthesis of insect hydrocarbons. The material presented is a major resource for current researchers and a source of ideas for new researchers.

Gary J. Blomquist is the chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno. He has published over 200 original research papers, reviews, chapters and books, including co-editing the books Pheromone Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (with R. G. Vogt, 2003) and Pheromone Biochemistry (with G. D. Prestwich, 1987). His work has been cited over 4500 times (ISI). Much of Blomquist's research career has involved the study of insect hydrocarbons with an emphasis on their biosynthesis, endocrine regulation and chemical analyses. He published his first paper on insect hydrocarbons 40 years ago (1969) and has remained active in this field, collaborating with many of the early leaders in the field including Larry Jackson, Dennis Nelson, Ralph Howard, Coby Schal and Anne-Geneviève Bagnères.

Anne-Geneviève Bagnères is Director of Research at the C.N.R.S. and team leader at the Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte (IRBI) in Tours, France. She completed a PhD on the role of cuticular hydrocarbons in social insects at the University of Paris 6 in 1989, and received the Chancellerie of the Universities of Paris Prize for her PhD work. She spent a year of postdoctoral studies in David Morgan's laboratory in 1990, and a sabbatical in 1996–7 in the laboratories of Gary Blomquist and Coby Schal. A-GB is primarily interested in chemical ecology of social insects where she continues to be a leading contributor and proponent of the concept of chemical signature. While her primary research focuses on termites, she participates in several collaborative studies involving chemistry of other insects. She is an active member of the International Society of Chemical Ecology (ISCE) and the bureau of the French section of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects. She has published nearly 100 original research papers, reviews and chapters.