Isolation and identification of 2-phenoxyethanol from a ballpoint pen ink as a trail-following substance of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Reticulitermes sp.

Jian Chen, LSU Agricultural Center
Gregg Henderson, LSU Agricultural Center
Roger A. Laine, LSU Agricultural Center

Abstract

Isolation and identification of 2-phenoxyethanol from a ballpoint pen ink as a termite trail-following substance was accomplished by using trail-following bioassays, column chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This chemical elicited trail-following in both C. formosanus Shiraki and Reticulitermes sp.