<p>Even bugs could do with some tan! Scientists have discovered that a type of bug found in North America sunbathe to fight off germs.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Western boxelder bugs are known to release strong-smelling chemical compounds “monoterpenes” when grouping together in sunlit patches.<br /><br />Researchers from Simon Fraser University, Canada have found that these chemicals help to protect the bugs by killing the germs that live on leaves, the BBC Nature reported.<br />In the past, scientists have theorised that these compounds could act as a defence or play a role in reproduction; attracting mates and repelling competition.<br /><br />In the new study, Joseph J Schwarz and colleagues found that the chemicals were emitted specifically during sunbathing sessions and did not seem to communicate anything to other bugs.<br /><br />Instead, the team discovered that the compounds helped to keep the bugs germ-free.<br />Bugs in the sunshine were observed “grooming”; wiping their feet and legs across the glands that produce the chemicals.<br /><br />Under a microscope, researchers found that the chemicals engulfed the fungal microbes that thrive on leaf surfaces, altering their cell structure to prevent them from invading the bugs’ bodies.<br /><br />“The resulting synergism of sunlight and bug-produced chemicals to kill pathogens is simply amazing and heretofore was unknown,” Schwarz added.<br /><br />Some animals, including sea slugs and salamanders, have developed symbiotic relationships with plants in order to use sunlight as an energy source.<br /><br />By accommodating microscopic algae in their own cells the animals can benefit from the plants’ energy production.<br /><br />Schwarz suggested, the discovery that western boxelder bugs are able to use the power of the sun without relying on plants places them in an elite group.<br /><br />“If western boxelder bugs can convert the suns’ solar energy to fuel chemical work without the aid of microbial symbionts this would be a spectacular accomplishment in the animal kingdom,” he told BBC Nature.<br /><br />The study was published in the journal Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata.</p>
<p>Even bugs could do with some tan! Scientists have discovered that a type of bug found in North America sunbathe to fight off germs.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Western boxelder bugs are known to release strong-smelling chemical compounds “monoterpenes” when grouping together in sunlit patches.<br /><br />Researchers from Simon Fraser University, Canada have found that these chemicals help to protect the bugs by killing the germs that live on leaves, the BBC Nature reported.<br />In the past, scientists have theorised that these compounds could act as a defence or play a role in reproduction; attracting mates and repelling competition.<br /><br />In the new study, Joseph J Schwarz and colleagues found that the chemicals were emitted specifically during sunbathing sessions and did not seem to communicate anything to other bugs.<br /><br />Instead, the team discovered that the compounds helped to keep the bugs germ-free.<br />Bugs in the sunshine were observed “grooming”; wiping their feet and legs across the glands that produce the chemicals.<br /><br />Under a microscope, researchers found that the chemicals engulfed the fungal microbes that thrive on leaf surfaces, altering their cell structure to prevent them from invading the bugs’ bodies.<br /><br />“The resulting synergism of sunlight and bug-produced chemicals to kill pathogens is simply amazing and heretofore was unknown,” Schwarz added.<br /><br />Some animals, including sea slugs and salamanders, have developed symbiotic relationships with plants in order to use sunlight as an energy source.<br /><br />By accommodating microscopic algae in their own cells the animals can benefit from the plants’ energy production.<br /><br />Schwarz suggested, the discovery that western boxelder bugs are able to use the power of the sun without relying on plants places them in an elite group.<br /><br />“If western boxelder bugs can convert the suns’ solar energy to fuel chemical work without the aid of microbial symbionts this would be a spectacular accomplishment in the animal kingdom,” he told BBC Nature.<br /><br />The study was published in the journal Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata.</p>