Abstract
Heterosexual and homosexual tandem running can be observed together in the alate pairings in some species of termites. This study examined the effect of heterosexual and homosexual tandem running in the termite Reticulitermes chinensis on the predation risk by a predatory ant, Leptogenys kitteli. Results showed that both heterosexual and homosexual tandem running reduced the predation risk of participants. When a male-male tandem encountered a female, the back male had a significant advantage over the front male in winning a female. Moreover, the back males were significantly heavier than the front males. These results indicated that the predation risk of dealates could be decreased by tandem running through the dilution effect. Furthermore, these data suggest that male-male tandem running could induce selection pressure in favor of vigorous males and may play an essential role in indirect sexual selection.
Highlights
Many termite species generally reproduce by annual dispersal of alates that leave the parent colony and found new colonies from bisexual pairs (Bordereau et al, 2002; Peppuy et al, 2004)
We examined the effect of heterosexual and homosexual tandem running in R. chinensis on the risk of predation by a sympatric predatory ant, Leptogenys kittel, to determine whether dealates of this species might exhibit antipredator behavior
The L. kitteli colony was maintained in a plastic box (75×75×60 mm3) which was connected by a plastic tube to a clear plastic case (75×75×60 mm3) used as a foraging arena where the ants were fed on live R. chinensis workers every 3 days
Summary
Many termite species generally reproduce by annual dispersal of alates that leave the parent colony and found new colonies from bisexual pairs (Bordereau et al, 2002; Peppuy et al, 2004). Few studies focus on the role of tandem running in reducing predation risk during mating flights of termites. Owing to the cryptic nesting habits and short swarming times in subterranean termites, it is very difficult to conduct extensive studies of their p a i ri n g b e h a v i o r a n d a n t ip r e d a - tor behavior in the field. Matsuura et al (2002) demonstrated that homosexual tandem running was an antipredator behavior in the Japanese subterranean termite, Reticulitermes speratus. How widespread this antipredator behavior is within the Isoptera is still unknown. It is necessary to further study the effect of tandem running on predation risk in other species of termites
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