Isolation, identification, and biological activity of trail-following pheromone of termiteTrinervitermes bettonianus (Sj�stedt) (Termitidae:Nasutitermitinae)

Abstract

The principal compound which posseses trail-following activity at low concentration has been isolated from workers and from female alates of the grass feeding termiteTrinervitermes bettonianus. Male alates also produce the pheromone but in much smaller quantities than the female. The structure of the pheromone was determined as the diterpene hydrocarbon cembrene-A from spectra and microscale reaction data.

Trail and Territorial Communication in Social Insects

“…In the Neotropical termite Nasutitermes costalis, chemicals extracted from four-year-old trails are capable of serving as pheromone guides to soldier and worker termites (Traniello, 1982). Additional tests with cembrene-A, which has been identified as a trail pheromone in N. exitiosus (Birch et al, 1972;Moore, 1966) and Trinervitermes (McDowell and 0100, 1984) suggest that this molecule may be responsible for what appears to be a general orientation response in higher tennites. Runcie (1987) offered behavioral data indicating the presence of a functionally similar orientation chemical in the rhinotermitid Reticulitermes jlavipes, and 0100 and Leuthold (1979) noted the existence of short-lived 'recruitment' and more durable 'basic' trails in Trinervitermes bettonianus.…”

“…Moreover, fourteen species of Myrmica distributed in Europe and North America all have similar quantities ofEDMP as the major constituent of their poison gland secretion and follow trails made from gland extracts or the authentic chemical. Dodecatrienol, identified as a trail pheromone in the termites Reticulitermes virginicus, R. speratus and CoptotermesJormosanus and a product of wood decay by the brownrot fungus Gleophyllum trabeum (Matsumura et al, 1968;Tokoro et al, 1991Tokoro et al, , 1992 serves as a nonspecific orientation guide in these species as well as in other species of Reticulitermes and representatives of a diverse group of geographically dispersed termites in different families such as Pseudacanthotermes, Odontotermes, Trinervitermes, Schedorhinotermes, and Amitermes (Bordereau et al, 1990;Kaib et al, 1982;McDowell and 0100, 1984;Prestwich, 1984). The diterpene hydrocarbon (E)-6-cembrene A, an orientation pheromone isolated from wholebody extracts of Nasutitermes exitiosus, also elicits orientation responses in N. walkeri and N. gravelosus (Birch et aI., 1972), Trinervitermes bettonianus and T. gratiosus (McDowell and 0100, 1984), as well as Schedorhinotermes, Amitermes, Reticulitermes, and weaker following in Macrotermes (Kaib et aI., 1982).…”

Two Novel Volatile Compounds as the Key for Intraspecific Colony Recognition in Macrotermes gilvus (Isoptera: Termitidae)

“…The first is the (E)-6-cembrene A of Nasutitermes exitiosus (Moore, 1966). The substance is not specific to the species because that is also found in N. walker and N. graveolus (Moore, 1966) and in Trinervitermes bettonianus (McDowell and Oloo, 1984). Then (3Z,6Z,8E)-3,6,8-dodecatrienol first identified as a pheromone trail marker of Reticulitermes virginicus (Matsumura et al, 1968;Tai et al, 1969).…”

Electroantennographic responses of Heterotermes tenuis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) to synthetic (3Z,6Z,8E)-Dodecatrien-1-ol

“…2,3 To date, trail-following pheromones have been identified in workers of only few termite species. (1E,5E,9E)-Neocembrene is present in the species Nasutitermes exitiosus 4 and Trinervitermes betonnianus 5 both from the Termitidae family. (3Z)-Dodecen-1-ol was found in Macrotermes annandalei 6 and (3Z,6Z)-dodecadien-1-ol in other fungus-growing termites.…”