Termites use trail pheromones primarily as a means of foraging. They can lay pheromones along a trail as their abdomens touch the ground, specifically through their abdominal sternal glands. As the other termites follow, they will continue to add to the trail.
The basal termite Mastotermes darwiniensis produces trail pheromones from at least two sternal glands despite every other species producing theirs from only one. This pheromone, composed soley of a norsesquiterpene alcohol, elicits trail-following from other termites. As aforementioned, these successive termites can add to the trail, depending if it is used for foraging or recruiting workers to complete tasks. In the case of Reticulitermes santonensis, foraging trails have spotted markings throughout the path, whereas recruitment trails are more continuous from the termites dragging their bodies along the path.