Today’s letter D is for Dufour, as in Dufour’s gland. First discovered by Léon Jean Marie Dufour in 1841, Dufour’s gland occurs in the abdomen of some female insects, part of the sting apparatus in some bees, wasps, and ants of the suborder Apocrita. Exocrine glands like Dufour’s glands secrete chemicals, but the nature and function of Dufour’s gland secretions are not well understood (see pensoft.net article).

Scientists do not generally agree on the exact purpose of this gland in honey bees in particular. Queens and workers secrete different chemicals from their Dufour’s gland, which may be used by the colony to help distinguish queen eggs from laying worker eggs. In the following honey bee abdomen diagram from drawwing.org, Dufour’s gland is highlighted in red. The diagram shows the stinger along with the common oviduct (Odc), poison sac (PsnSc), and rectum (Rect).

The gland appears in solitary bees as well, as well as many ants and wasps. It can be used for nest identification, communication purposes, or even to aid in nest construction.

If you want to see the whole alphabet in this series, you can start with letter A.

May you prosper and find honey.