A study of a termite chemical defense fluid compound of Macrotermes carbonarius

Abstract

Termite caste consists of reproductive individuals, worker, and soldier. Soldiers defend their colony by physical and chemical means. For Macrotermes carbonarius, they use mandibles as their physical defense and defense fluid for chemical defense. Their defense fluid plays a vital role to defend their caste from any harm from another insect such as ants. This can be related to the fact that M. carbonarius is an urban pest that has many threats to their colony. However, less study had been focused on their defense fluid composition and how the compounds function. This study was carried out to determine the compound present in the defense fluid of M. carbonarius. The methods used in this study were thin layer chromatography (TLC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). TLC detection indicated presence of three unknown compounds and one important compound. GCMS analysis had confirmed the compound as lauric acid methyl esther that was obtained from the TLC. This information would contribute to fill up the research gap and assist in better understanding the compound composition found in M. carbonarius defense fluid to protect their colony, an update on the defense fluid research since 1979 by Prestwich.

Evaluation of the chemical defense fluids of Macrotermes carbonarius and Globitermes sulphureus as possible household repellents and insecticides

“…The compound had the second-highest concentration in the extract, and advanced testing is required for further confirmation. The insecticidal activity was also contributed to by other compounds with insecticidal properties, which were observed in a previous study 63 . Other compounds, namely, pentadecanoic acid and furanone, were believed to be responsible for the repellency activity, as shown in a previous study, but no detailed investigation was performed in this study 64 , 65 .…”

“…Phenol and hexadecanoic acid methyl ester have dual functions, as repellent and insecticide, which is consistent with the previous study. This compound may also contribute to the efficiency of the defense fluid extract as a repellent and insecticide, but further detailed investigations are needed 63,[68][69][70][71] . The insecticidal activity of this extract was contributed to by octadecanoic acid and stearic acid, leading to a low LC 50 of this extract (16.92 mg/ml), as inferred in a previous study.…”

Termite Fauna of Gunung Telapak Buruk, Berembun Forest Reserve, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

“…Systematic study on termites in Malaysia has started since 1980s, whereby two main termite identification guide books for Malaysia were published in the year 1981 by Thapa and 1992 by Tho. Since then, termite research in Malaysia have covered the area of fundamental and application studies (Eggleton et al, 1997;Jones & Brendell, 1998;Homathevi et al, 2002;Lee, 2004;Abdul Hafiz et al, 2007;Abdul Hafiz & Abu Hassan, 2009;Hanis et al, 2014;Nivaarani & Homathevi, 2015;Kori & Arumugam, 2017;Rahman et al, 2018;Saputra et al, 2018;Visheentha et al, 2018;Alia Diyana et al, 2019;Arumugam et al, 2019). However, the pest problem caused by termites and the development in science and technology has reduced the focus on forest termite diversity study, especially in Peninsular Malaysia.…”

Termite Fauna of Sungai Kangkawat, Imbak Canyon Conservation Area (ICCA), Sabah

“…They have a high contribution in improving structure and quality of soil, decomposition of organic matters and also recycling nutrients in an ecosystem Bignell & Eggleton, 2000;Jones & Prasetyo, 2002;Elzinga, 2004;Inoue et al, 2006;Brune, 2014). Termites use physical and chemical defences to protect their colonies from enemies (Prestwich, 1984;Chuah, 2010;Alia diyana et al, 2019).…”