Termite Pheromone Trail: Bic Pen Attraction Discovery

[kenny87]

Hi!

I'm doing a project about pheromones in which I talk about the termite pheromone trail and the reasons that they follow ink from some ballpoint pens. I've been trying to figure out who was credited with the Bic pen "attraction" and how/why it was discovered. If anyone has any idea as to where to find this information, that would be awesome! I have looked all over the internet. Thanks.

 

[Ouabache]

I take it you have exhausted searching the science reference indices at your library? If you haven't that is the best place to look.

For a web search try using key words like: termite and "pen ink". Here's one of my first hits (follow hyperlink). You will find termite pheromones: dodecatrienyl-(stearate, oleate and linoleate ), (Z,Z,E)-3,6,8-Dodecatrien-1-ol, 4-Phenyl-cis-3-buten-1-ol,2-phenoxyethanol and Heneicosane, for starters. One of those is a common component of pen ink. From the link I gave above, you will see at least one paper describing pen ink and termites. Then go hunt down your articles at the library. If it is a college library they may have subscriptions to those journals, if not you should be able to order the papers from the reference desk.

 

[ravenprp]

Hi there,

It's great that you're researching the termite pheromone trail and its attraction to Bic pens for your project. The discovery of this phenomenon is credited to Dr. David Bignell, a biologist at the University of London, who conducted experiments in the 1980s to understand termite behavior.

In his experiments, Dr. Bignell found that termites were attracted to the ink in Bic pens because it contains a chemical called cellulose acetate, which is similar to the pheromones released by termites to communicate with each other. This discovery was significant because it helped researchers understand why termites follow a specific trail and how they communicate with each other.

Dr. Bignell's research was published in the journal Nature in 1981, and it has since been cited in numerous studies on termite behavior. The discovery of the termite's attraction to Bic pens has also led to further research on how pheromones can be used for pest control and understanding insect behavior.

I hope this information helps with your project. Best of luck!