Isolation, identification, and biological activity of trail-following pheromone of termiteTrinervitermes bettonianus (Sjöstedt) (Termitidae:Nasutitermitinae).

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.