Analysis of the honeydew from scale insects Stigmacoccus sp. and Coccus hesperidium (L.) were carried out by paper chromatography, FAB-MS and GC-MS. The results showed three components (tri-, tetra- and penta-saccharides) which were composed by 1,4 glucose(s) linked to the glucose of sucrose. The findings therefore imply significant and novel metabolic transformations of sugars by the insect and/or microbial symbionts. From these results, structures and common names as "Stigmatriose, Stigmatetraose and Stigmapentose" were proposed for these oligosaccharides because they were found initially in Stigmacoccus sp. honeydew.
Homoptera; oligosaccharides; FAB-MS; CG-MS; structures
