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Interspecific Variation in Defense Secretions of Malaysian Termites from the Genus Bulbitermes

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Abstract

The chemicals of the defense secretions of Malaysian Bulbitermes, B. singaporensis, B. germanus, B. sarawakensis, and Bulbitermes sp. B, show that B. singaporensis is distinct from the other species, which are themselves closely related; the genetic distance between B. singaporensis and B.germanus is 0.71. B. singaporensis contains tetracyclic kempane, and B. germanus and B. sarawakensis contain tricyclic trinervitene; Bulbitermes sp. B contains a mixture of kempane and trinervitene. The mono- and diterpenoid compositions are species-specific.

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  1. Chemistry Department, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Cheng-Hock Chuah

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Chuah, CH. Interspecific Variation in Defense Secretions of Malaysian Termites from the Genus Bulbitermes. J Chem Ecol 31, 819–827 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-005-3546-8

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