Myrmecophily provides various examples of how social structures can be overcome to exploit vast and well-protected resources. Ant nest beetles (Paussinae) are particularly well suited for ecological and evolutionary considerations in the context of association with ants because life habits within the subfamily range from free-living and predatory in basal taxa to obligatory myrmecophily in derived Paussini. Adult Paussini are accepted in the ant society, although parasitising the colony by preying on ant brood. Host species mainly belong to the ant families Myrmicinae and Formicinae, but at least several paussine genera are not host-specific. Morphological adaptations, such as special glands and associated tufts of hair (trichomes), characterise Paussini as typical myrmecophiles and lead to two different strategical types of body shape: while certain Paussini rely on the protective type with less exposed extremities, other genera access ant colonies using glandular secretions and trichomes (symphile type). We compare these adaptations with other taxonomic groups of insects by joining contemporary research and early sources and discuss the possibility of an attracting or appeasing effect of the secretion. Species that are ignored by their host ants might use chemical mimicry instead. Furthermore, vibrational signals may contribute to ant-beetle communication, and chemical signals have proven to play a role in host finding. The powerful defense chemistry of paussines as "bombardier beetles" is not used in contact with host ants. We attempt to trace the evolution of myrmecophily in paussines by reviewing important aspects of the association between paussine beetles and ants, i.e. morphological and potential chemical adaptations, life cycle, host specificity, alimentation, parasitism and sound production.

Tarsal substrate adhesion in insects is based on the effect of a thin film of liquid in the contact zone, which is deposited as droplets on the surface an insect has walked on, but as yet, little is known about the chemical composition of the liquid. In the present study, interference reflection microscopical images of the tarsal contact and footprints of Gastrophysa viridula (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) are depicted and the chemical composition of tarsal liquids and cuticular components are investigated by means of solid-phase microextraction and solvent extraction of whole beetles and footprints. Based on this comparative methodical approach, we are first to provide evidence from direct sampling for the chemical congruence of cuticular lipids and tarsal liquid in beetles. Furthermore, differences resulting from the applied sampling techniques are assessed and advantages of the respective methods are discussed.

Species of various insect orders possess specialised tarsal adhesive structures covered by a thin liquid film, which is deposited in the form of footprints. This adhesive liquid has been suggested to be chemically and physiologically related to the epicuticular lipid layer, which naturally covers the body of insects and acts as the prime barrier to environmental stresses, such as desiccation. The functional efficiency of the layer, however, is jeopardised by partial melting that may occur at physiological temperatures. In this study, light microscopic images of elytral prints show that the epicuticular lipid layer of the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata actually is partially liquid and chemical investigations reveal the high similarity of the epicuticular hydrocarbon pattern and the tarsal liquid. By means of chemical manipulation of the surface hydrocarbon composition of live beetles, the substance exchange between their tarsal adhesive hairs and the body surface is monitored. Histological sections of L. decemlineata tarsi, furthermore, reveal glandular cells connected to individual adhesive setae and departing from these results, an idea of a general mechanism of tarsal secretion is developed and discussed in a functional-ecological context.

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Within beetles, those species that are adapted to life on plants have developed widened tarsi with specialised hairy attachment structures. The capability to adhere to smooth surfaces is based on a liquid film on the surface of these structures, the composition of which is similar to the cuticular lipids. By means of a cluster analysis based on chemical similarities between samples obtained from tarsi or elytra of 35 species using solid phase microextraction, the present study strongly suggests that this chemical congruence is a principle in beetles. This supports the idea of tarsal liquids being part of the cuticular lipid layer and contributes to the understanding of liquid-mediated attachment systems.

Breeding burrows of Parastizopus armaticeps armaticeps, a fossorial desert tenebrionid beetle, are cleptoparasitised by the closely related Eremostibes opacus. Gas chromatographic analyses show a high congruity of the cuticular hydrocarbons of both species. We compare these hydrocarbon patterns with those of four other Stizopina species and the Scaurini Herpiscius sommeri. In a bioassay, dummies treated with cuticular hydrocarbon extracts of E. opacus and the P. a. bifidus parasite E. bushmanicus were mostly ignored by P. a. armaticeps, whereas dummies with applied extracts of the remaining species were heavily attacked. We show that there is a correlation between agonistic behaviour of P. a. armaticeps towards the intruder and the chemical similarity of the cuticular hydrocarbons of the two species. Furthermore, we produced quantitatively modified hydrocarbon patterns of E. barbatus by changing the temperature at which this species was kept. The new 30°C-type was chemically similar to E. opacus, and was frequently ignored by P. a. armaticeps, whereas a reduction of the temperature to 20°C only had minor effects on the hydrocarbon pattern. Furthermore, we show that the addition of one single component, heptacosane, to the cuticular hydrocarbon extract of E. opacus alters the host's reaction. We discuss the role of cuticular hydrocarbons for the recognition of this host-parasite system and the relevance of quantitative characters in the hydrocarbon pattern for the discrimination of the host.

Kurzfassung Bisher wird der Begriff der Hochleistung nicht zwingend mit dem Thema Nachhaltigkeit in Verbindung gebracht. Doch ist das Ausschöpfen von Leistungspotenzialen durch die Verbesserung der Leistungsfähigkeit in wesentlichen Kernarbeitsprozessen möglich – und schafft damit den Freiraum für einen ökologisch und sozial verträglicheren Umgang mit den natürlichen Ressourcen. Wie der Aufbau von richtungsweisenden Fähigkeiten sowie nachhaltig wirksamen Strukturen und Standards im laufenden Betrieb gelingt und welche weitreichenden Auswirkungen dies auf alle Unternehmensbereiche hat, zeigt dieser Beitrag.