ABSTRACT
The Hymenoptera have glandular structures embryologically linked to buccal pieces and known as the salivary gland system. Four pairs of glands form the system in ants: the labial or thoracic glands; the mandibular glands; the post-pharyngeal glands and the maxillary or hypopharyngeal glands. Most of these glands have their secretory portions located in the head, but the labial gland is located in the thorax, although their ducts open in the head labial segment. There is a large gap in time between the initial morphological studies of ant salivary glands and more recent work (Bordas, 1895; Janet, 1894; Otto, 1958; Forbes and MacFarlane, 1961; Toledo, 1967; Delage-Darchen, 1976; Brough, 1977; Phillips and Vinson, 1980; Gama e Cruz-Landim, 1982). These glands have different designations (Table 1), mostly related to the site of gland opening. Recently, study of these glands intensified and their origin (Gama, 1978), function (Delage-Darchen, 1976; Morgan et al, 1978; Brough, 1978; Vinson et al, 1980; Phillips and Vinson 1980; Attygale et al, 1985; Billen et al, 1987; Cammaerts et al, 1988) and ultrastructure (Petralia et al, 1980; Billen and Peusens, 1984; Gama, 1985; Billen, 1987) observed and described.
