George William Kenneth Cavill

18: Chemistry of Some Insect Secretions (1970)

Introduction

18: chemistry of some insect secretions (1970). Discover the chemistry of insect & arthropod secretions. Learn their roles as defensive compounds, venoms, and chemical messengers in social organization.

Abstract

Liversidge Research Lecture delivered before the Royal Society of New South Wales, 22nd October, 1970. Reproduced by permission of the Royal Society of New South Wales from J. Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W., 1970, 103, 109-118."A number of the secretions used by insects and other arthropods for defensive purposes, as venoms, and as chemical messengers in their patterns of social organization have been characterized.""In the present lecture emphasis is placed on aspects of the chemistry of insect secretions that have interested us since 1952."

Review

This paper, titled "18: Chemistry of Some Insect Secretions," presents the Liversidge Research Lecture delivered to the Royal Society of New South Wales on October 22, 1970. As a reproduction from the *J. Proc. Roy. Soc. N.S.W.* from the same year, it offers a valuable historical snapshot of research in entomological chemistry from that era. The context of being a prestigious research lecture suggests that the content represents a significant body of work and insights from a leading researcher in the field. The abstract clearly outlines the scope of the lecture, indicating a focus on the characterization of various secretions used by insects and other arthropods. These secretions are categorized by their functions: defensive purposes, venoms, and chemical messengers integral to social organization. The authors explicitly state that the lecture emphasizes aspects of insect secretion chemistry that have been a particular interest to their research group since 1952, suggesting a comprehensive overview of nearly two decades of work and discoveries. Given its vintage, this work would serve as an important reference for understanding the foundational chemical characterizations of insect natural products before the advent of more modern analytical techniques. For contemporary researchers, it provides insight into the historical development of chemical ecology and insect biochemistry, illustrating the initial identification of complex organic molecules playing crucial roles in arthropod survival and communication. It likely represents a synthesis of pioneering efforts to unravel the chemical language of insects.

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