Abstract
Termites are social insects that live in colonies headed by reproductive castes. The breeding system is defined by the number of reproductive individuals in a colony and the castes to which they belong. There is tremendous variation in the breeding system of termites both within and among species. The current state of our understanding of termite breeding systems is reviewed. Most termite colonies are founded by a primary (alate-derived) king and queen who mate and produce the other colony members. In some species, colonies continue throughout their life span as simple families headed by the original king and queen. In others, the primary king and queen are replaced by numerous neotenic (nymph- or worker-derived) reproductives, or less commonly primary reproductives, that are descendants of the original founding pair leading to inbreeding in the colony. In still others, colonies can have multiple unrelated reproductives due to either founding the colonies as groups or through colony fusion. More recently, parthenogenetic reproduction has shown to be important in some termite species and may be widespread. A major challenge in termite biology is to understand the ecological and evolutionary factors driving the variation in termite breeding systems.
Highlights
Like all eusocial insects, termites have a reproductive division of labor in which specialized castes reproduce and other members of the colony work on their behalf
In the most basal termite, Mastotermes darwiniensis (Mastotermitidae), the colonies are founded by primary reproductives, but only numerous neotenics have been found in excavations of established field colonies [10]
The large variation in colony breeding structure within and among species [2] raises the question of the selective forces favoring one breeding system over another, for example, when are extended families favored over simple families, or when are mixed families favored over extended families? Vargo et al [24] studied several populations of R. flavipes, along its range in the eastern U.S, and R. grassei, in its range in the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern France
Summary
Termites have a reproductive division of labor in which specialized castes reproduce and other members of the colony work on their behalf. For the purposes of this review, the breeding system is defined as the number and caste members engaged in reproduction within termite colonies. The breeding system determines the degree of genetic relatedness among colony members, as well as the level of inbreeding of individuals within the colony. The primary reproductives, the king and queen, form a monogamous pair that produces the other colony members. One by Vargo and Husseneder [1] focused on the subterranean genera, Coptotermes and Reticulitermes, and another focused on the colony and population genetics of termites [2]. Since these reviews, there have been some important developments in our understanding of termite breeding systems. I review the various reproductive castes found in termites
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