Species specificity of trail pheromones of fungus-growing termites from northern Vietnam

Trail-following pheromones were studied in four fungus-growing termites from northern Vietnam: Macrotermes annandalei, M. barneyi, Odontetermes hainanensis and O. maesodensis. From bioassays, we suggest that trail pheromones of these species are composed of a common or anonymous signal, as well as species-specific signals. The anonymous signal has been identified by GC-MS as (Z)-dodec-3-en-1-ol for each species from extracts of sternal glands and from solid phase microextraction of the surface of their sternal gland. This compound is secreted in much higher quantities (up to 1.4 ng/worker) than dodecatrienol, another anonymous signal of trail-following in termites. (Z)-dodec-3-en-1-ol is an anonymous signal of trail-following for numerous fungus-growing termites, including African termites M. bellicosus and M. subhyalinus, but is not ubiquitous for all Macrotermitinae. Trail specificity is much more pronounced between species of different genera than between congeners. Species-specific compounds were not identified.