Abstract
This study examines the individual behavior of workers of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shirkai, on two consecutive days of tunnel construction. In each trial, a group of 30 termite workers was observed continuously during the first 60 min of construction of a new tunnel on two consecutive days. On each day, an average of 68% of individuals did not participate in tunnel construction, 19% spent <25 min tunneling, and 13% spent ≥25 min tunneling. There were specific individuals that did most of the work in the construction of new tunnels on both days. An individual that spent at least 25 min tunneling on Day 1 was significantly more likely to spend at least 25 min tunneling on Day 2 than individuals that spent <25 min tunneling on Day 1. When individuals were ranked based on the time spent tunneling on Day 1 and Day 2, there were individuals ranked as one of the top four excavators on both days in three of the four groups. These results indicate that there is evidence of task allocation by termite workers during the construction of a new tunnel.
Highlights
In social insects, such as ants and honey bees, elaborate systems of task allocation among castes have been documented extensively [1]
The number of individuals involved during the first hour of construction of a new tunnel was consistent for each trial
The proportion of individuals that participated in tunnel construction was similar for different groups of workers from the two colonies
Summary
In social insects, such as ants and honey bees, elaborate systems of task allocation among castes have been documented extensively [1]. Numerous studies have examined the tunneling behavior of the Formosan subterranean termite [7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21]. Two studies examined the role of individual workers in tunnel construction and found evidence of task allocation. When termites initiate construction of a new tunnel, only a single individual is able to enter the tunnel tip, and as the new tunnel gradually lengthens, more individuals become involved. The study presented here examined the tunneling behavior of marked individuals during the first hour of construction of a new tunnel on two consecutive days. The study examined whether specific individuals are more likely to tunnel than other individuals and whether their tunneling behavior on the second day can be predicted by their tunneling behavior on the first day
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