Heterogeneous distribution of castes/instars and behaviors in the nest of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki

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• 作者：H. Du ; T. Chouvenc ; W. L. A. Osbrink ; N.-Y. Su
• 关键词：Division of labor ; Caste ; Royal chamber ; Grooming ; Proctodeal feeding
• 刊名：Insectes Sociaux
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：February 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：64
• 期：1
• 页码：103-112
• 全文大小：
• 刊物类别：Biomedical and Life Sciences
• 刊物主题：Entomology;
• 出版者：Springer International Publishing
• ISSN：1420-9098
• 卷排序：64

文摘

This study investigated age polyethism and the frequencies of behaviors in relation to the distance from the egg cluster in nests of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, a lower termite. Juvenile colonies of C. formosanus were introduced in planar arenas and termite activity was recorded with camcorders. The results showed that there were differences in distribution of caste/instar between the royal chamber and the secondary feeding site. There was a gradient of termite distribution within the vicinity of the royal chamber, with the egg cluster as the center. A negative correlation between the number of behavioral events per individual and distance of the behavioral event from the egg cluster was found for many behaviors. However, some behaviors were positively correlated with the distance from the egg clusters in the royal chamber, implying that not all behavior frequencies were termite density dependent. Finally, most motionless termites were found near the royal chamber, presumably about to molt or recently molted. Our study confirmed the occurrence of age polyethism in C. formosanus and there was heterogeneous distribution of caste/instar and behaviors away from the egg clusters. Task division was not only instar dependent but also location dependent, although behavioral compartmentalization was not as distinct as found in higher termites. This observation suggests that the complexity of age polyethism in Coptotermes is intermediate between lower termites and higher termites, as a case of evolutionary step.