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.