The medical risk associated with the social insects of the order Hymenoptera is due to the organic acids in them. An organic compound is a type of chemical compound that contains at least one atom of carbon covalently bonded with other elements like hydrogen, oxygen or Nitrogen. The research is aimed at exploring and identifying the organic acids present in insect species: mud dauber ( Sceliphron caementarium ) and the carpenter ant (Camponous pennsylvanicus ). The goal is to investigate the organic compound diversity in these species. The methodology involved analytical techniques using Gas-Chromatography - Mass Spectrophotometre (GC-MS) which enabled the identification and characterisation of the extracted organic acids. The findings revealed that the mud-dauber wasp ( S. caementarium ) contained sixteen (16) organic acids, including Trans -13- octadecenoic, 11-octadecenoic acid, 12 - octadecenoic acid, Cis- 13 - Eicosenoic acid and others. The Black carpenter ant ( Camponotus pennsylvanicus ) is composed of eighteen (18) organic acids, including 2 - butenedioc acid, Tridecanoic acid, Sulfurous acid and oxalic acid among others. Moreover, six (6) of the organic acids are common to both insect species. The study provides a detailed and comprehensive examination of the diverse array of organic acids. The identification and quantification of these organic acids not only contribute to our knowledge of metabolic pathways of these insects, but also open doors to potential applications in medicine and agriculture
Tajudeen et al. (Mon,) studied this question.