Termites secrete a wide variety of different pheromones. The pheromones are secreted from glands located on their chests. Different pheromones communicate a wide variety of information to other caste members. workers release an aggregation pheromone at their nesting site, and that this pheromone induces rapid and long-lasting aggregation of workers. The pheromone is a mixture of 2-phenylundecane, pentacosane, heptacosane, palmitic acid, trans-vaccenic acid, and cholesterol. It is estimated that the aggregation pheromone functions as a signal to indicate nest mate or food presence, and as an arresting agent that causes the attracted workers to remain at the pheromone source for a long period.
