Chemical mimicry as an integrating mechanism: cuticular hydrocarbons of a termitophile and its host

Science. 1980 Oct 24;210(4468):431-3. doi: 10.1126/science.210.4468.431.

Abstract

The staphylinid beetle Trichopsenius frosti Seevers has the same cuticular hydrocarbons as those of its host termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) and it biosynthesizes them. These cuticular hydrocarbons probably serve as the primary mechanism by which Trichopsenius frosti integrates itself into the termite colony.