Bald-faced hornet hydrocarbons serve as a barrier to moisture diffusion and thus prevent dehydration in wasps. Cuticular hydrocarbon profiles vary over species and nests, and so cuticular hydrocarbons are a proposed mechanism for nest-mate recognition. Worker and queen cuticular lipids have similar components, but their distributions differ dramatically, implying that cuticular hydrocarbons also play a role in caste differentiation. The following lipid profiles were determined from specimens collected in the summer and early fall of northeastern Georgia in 1989. The dominant hydrocarbons recovered from the cuticles of workers were n-alkanes and methyl branched and dimethyl branched alkanes with a C27 or a
Androctonus australis hector insect toxin be reduced 44-98% by creating transgenic cotton crops which express the "AaHIT" gene. Another example in which AaHIT can be used as an insecticide is via baculoviruses. Baculoviruses are themselves insect-specific viruses; they can be potentiated if they express the "AaHIT" gene. The potentiated viruses kill the insects faster, resulting in less damage to the crops. Androctonus australis hector insect toxin "Androctonus australis hector" insect toxin also known as AaHIT is a scorpion toxin which affects voltage-gated sodium channels. Four different insect toxins, namely AaHIT1, AaHIT2, AaHIT4 and AaHIT5, can be distinguished. It targets insects, except AaHIT4, which is also