Trail-following pheromones were studied in four fungus-growing termites fro
m northern Vietnam: Macrotermes annandalei, M. barneyi, Odontotermes hainan
ensis and O. maesodensis. From bioassays, we suggest that trail pheromones
of these species are composed of a common or anonymous signal, as well as s
pecies-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. Th
is compound is secreted in much higher quantities (up to 1.4 ng/worker) tha
n dodecatrienol, another anonymous signal of trail-following in termites. (
Z)-dodec-3-en-1-ol is an anonymous signal of trail-following for numerous f
ungus-growing termites, including African termites M. bellicosus and M. sub
hyalinus, but is not ubiquitous for all Macrotermitinae. Trail specificity
is much more pronounced between species of different genera than between co
ngeners. Species-specific compounds were not identified.