Chemical Studies of Attractants Associated with Reticulitermes flavipes and R. virginicus1

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Abstract
Both the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), and R. virginicus (Banks) have an abdominal gland which secretes a compound inducing trail following and other attractant behavior in either species. Purification of the compound carried through 1 gas-liquid chromatographic run gave a product active at 0.1 ng. Western white pine rotted by the fungus Lenzites trabea Pers. ex Fr. produced trail following with material from 100 μg of wood per ml of test solution. On a weigh t basis, L. trabea-rotted wood is approximately 20 times as rich a source of attractant as the termites themselves. When the product from wood was gas chromatographed, the active region corresponded in retention time to that found for the gland substance.