Affiliations 

  • 1 Chemistry Department, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
J Chem Ecol, 1986 Mar;12(3):701-12.
PMID: 24306909 DOI: 10.1007/BF01012103

Abstract

Soldier defense secretions of the genus Hospitalitermes (Isoptera, Termitidae, Nasutitermitinae) were chemically analyzed by GC-MS and were found to contain volatile monoterpenes and polyoxygenated diterpenes. Interspecific and intraspecific chemical variations for H. umbrinus, H. hospitalis, H. flaviventris, and H. bicolor are described. Interspecific variations in monoterpene and diterpene structures and compositions were evident. A remarkable example of large intraspecific variation from a single species was observed inH. umbrinus, indicating that colonies of this species can be separable into two chemically distinct groups. The diterpenes found in one of these groups have unusually high molecular weights.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.