Download (PDF 574 KB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/26896.pdf
Abstract
Cuticular hydrocarbons can be used to discriminate species in
Coptotermes and
Nasutitermes, here discussed for selected species from locations in the Pacific Rim and several Caribbean islands. We recently reexamined the cuticular hydrocarbons of
Coptotermes formosanus and identified several dimethylalkanes that may be unique to this species. Cuticular hydrocarbons of
C. curvignathus are similar to those of
C. formosanus; the primary difference is the absence of 9,13-DimeC
27 and 13,15-DimeC
29 in
C. curvignathus. Hydrocarbons of
C. acinaciformis include abundant quantities of C
27:1, which does not occur in any other species of
Coptotermes examined thus far.
C. lacreus makes two unusual dimethylalkanes: 15,17-DimeC and 15,17-DimeC.
C. testaceus is notably different from the other
Coptotermes species described here. Nearly all of the hydrocarbon components are monomethylalkanes. No
n-alkanes or alkenes were identified. The predominant hydrocarbons in
Nasutitermes costalis are mono- and dimethylalkanes: 13,17-DimeC
31 accounts for nearly half of the total hydrocarbon. The most abundant hydrocarbons in
N. ephratae are also mono-, di- and trimethylalkanes. Two dimethylalkanes (15,17-DimeC
37 and 15,17-DimeC
39) separate
N. ephratae from
N. costalis. The hydrocarbon mixtures of
N. gaigei and
N.guayanae contain only late-eluting alkenes (C3
37:2 through C
41:1) . The major difference between these two species is the degree of unsaturation. The hydrocarbon profile of
N. acajutlae appears to be bimodal: early-eluting hydrocarbons consist of
n-alkanes, alkenes, and monomethylalkanes, while late-eluting compounds consist entirely of alkenes.
N. intennedius predominantly makes long-chain alkenes with one or two double bonds (C
37:2 through C
41:1), including a homologous series of alkenes with an even number of carbons in the chain (C
36:2 through C
40:1).
Parent Publication
Citation
Haverty, Michael I.; Nelson, Lori J.; Thorne, Barbara L.; Collins, Margaret S.; Darlington, Johanna P.E.C.; Page, Marion. 1992. Cuticular hydrocarbons for species determination of tropical termites. In: Conrad, Engene C.; Newell, Leonard A., tech. cords. Proceedings on the session on tropical forestry for people of the Pacific, XVII Pacific Science Congress; May 27-28. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-129. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station: 58-66
