Worker Dimorphism in Nasute Termites Reflects Different Tasks during Food Collection

Abstract

This study combines information on the differences in foraging behavior and morphological dimorphism for workers of the termite Constrictotermes cyphergaster. We observed through morphological analyzes that the workers of this species are dimorphic. Through comparisons between major and minor workers signal emissions, we can assume that each of these groups of workers performs different foraging tasks. The crop volumes of minor and major workers were measured, noting it are statistically different and this can be associated to differences in food collection. This study also provides information that during the foraging the major workers may be mistaken for soldiers by having a similar posture and coloring, which reduces their predation and enables a quick predator detection due to their position on the trails’ edges.