CHAPTER 6 - The Caste System in Higher Termites

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses caste system in higher termites. In the higher termites, two developmental hues are evident after the first moult. The neuter line produces workers and soldiers all through the year; the sexual line appears at a definite season. After two or three instars, larvae become workers, with limited morphological changes but radical transformation in physiology and behaviour. Polymorphism occurs in the worker caste, either by sexual dimorphism or by occurrence of successive worker stages, or both. Soldiers differentiate either from larvae or from workers, their origin being well-defined for each species. In most cases, they are all of the same sex, male or female depending on the species. The chapter also provides an overview on the intercastes, which are rarely observed in the higher termites. Its different types are the soldier caste and worker caste. The soldier caste is much more diversified in the higher than in the lower termites, but this evolution is integrated in various defensive strategies, in relation with foraging and building behavior. The worker caste—much more uniform than the soldiers, and with a simplified organization—is mainly adapted to the collection and transformation of the biomass. Its polymorphism is discussed in relation to division of labour.