L'arme frontale des soldats de termites. I. Rhinotermitidae

Quennedey, André; Deligne, Jean

doi:10.1007/bf02223076

Cited by 55 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Myles (1988) suggests that it is in Zootermopsis that the soldier weapons are best suited for siblicidal fighting; in other termites, the evolution of these weapons towards an improvement of colony defence would have reduced their efficacy in siblicidal fights and led to the abandonment of their expression in neotenics. A decrease of intraspecific efficacy may be true for soldiers with reduced mandibles such as nasutes, some rhinotermitids (e.g., Acorhinotermes, Quennedey and Deligne, 1975), extremely phragmotic (plug-shaped) kalotermitids (Scheffrahn et al, 1998), but not for the many genera that have retained sharp and powerful mandibles. In addition, why could the original siblicidal neotenic morph not have retained its fighting abilities while a colony-defending morph was diverging from it, just as two distinct soldier morphs diverged in a number of termite species ?…”

Section: Evolution Of the Soldier Castementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, why could the original siblicidal neotenic morph not have retained its fighting abilities while a colony-defending morph was diverging from it, just as two distinct soldier morphs diverged in a number of termite species ? For instance in Rhinotermes and Dolichorhinotermes, the major soldier possesses powerful mandibles whereas the minor soldier relies on chemical defence (Quennedey and Deligne, 1975). In all species of thrips with soldiers, foundresses have retained their fighting ability (Crespi et al, 1997) with weapons less developed than those of soldiers.…”

Section: Evolution Of the Soldier Castementioning

confidence: 99%

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Philopatric reproduction, a prime mover in the evolution of termite sociality?

Roisin¹

1999

Insectes Sociaux

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Philopatric reproduction commonly occurs even in the most basic isopteran lineages and is almost certainly a primitive potentiality of these insects. Several authors hypothesized that opportunities for philopatric reproduction may have been a prime mover for the three most remarkable events in the evolution of termite sociality: the origin of helping behaviour, the origin of soldiers, and the origin of a permanently apterous worker caste. A critical assessment of these hypotheses and a review of relevant evidence are presented here. I first discuss the hypothesis that termite helpers derive from individuals choosing to postpone dispersal because of nest inheritance prospects. Such individuals would have developed helping as a strategy yielding indirect reproductive benefits while they wait for reproductive opportunities. However, it appears that prospects of philopatric reproduction need not be invoked to explain the origin of helping behaviour, which can be justified more parsimoniously by a favourable intrinsic benefit/cost ratio. Second, the hypothesis that soldiers originated through selection for fighting abilities among neotenic reproductives is found to face important difficulties, the major one being how to explain the absence of fighting devices in almost all presentday neotenics. Finally, the hypothesized link between apterism and chances of philopatric reproduction, which might have favoured the onset of the worker caste, is poorly supported by empirical evidence. It appears thus that philopatric reproduction, notwithstanding its importance in the biology of many extant termite species, is unlikely to have been a prime mover in the evolution of helping and of altruistic castes in termites.

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Section: Evolution Of the Soldier Castementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Evolution Of the Soldier Castementioning

confidence: 99%

Philopatric reproduction, a prime mover in the evolution of termite sociality?

Roisin¹

1999

Insectes Sociaux

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“…The genus has had a checkered past in that some authors have felt the distinctions between Dolichorhinotermes, RhinotermesHagen, and Acorhinotermes Emerson were subtle and intergraded (e.g., Mathews, 1977). However, Quennedey and Deligne (1975) identified significant morphological characters of the soldier head capsule, particularly features of the labrum, that justify the recognition of separate, albeit closely related, genera.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Dolichorhinotermes from Ecuador and in Mexican Amber (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Engel¹,

Krishna²

2007

American Museum Novitates

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Two new species of the Neotropical termite genus Dolichorhinotermes Snyder and Emerson (Rhinotermitidae: Rhinotermitinae) are described and figured. Dolichorhinotermes lanciarius Engel and Krishna, new species, from southeastern Ecuador, is the largest species of the genus and is distinctive in both the major and minor soldier caste. Dolichorhinotermes apopnus Engel and Krishna, new species, preserved in earliest Miocene amber from Chiapas, Mexico, is similar to D. dominicanus Schlemmermeyer and Cancello in Early Miocene (Burdigalian) amber from the Dominican Republic but differs in several significant respects. Distinctions between Rhinotermes and Dolichorhinotermes are briefly discussed. RESUMENSe describen e ilustran dos especies nuevas pertecientes al género Dolichorhinotermes Snyder y Emerson (Rhinotermitidae: Rhinotermitinae). Dolichorhinotermes lanciarius Engel y Krishna, especie nueva, proveniente del sureste de Ecuador, es la especie de mayor tamañ o del género y se distingue tanto en los soldados mayores como en los menores. Dolichorhinotermes apopnus Engel y Krishna, especie nueva, preservada en á mbar de la base del Mioceno basal de Chiapas, México, es má s semejante a D. dominicanus Schlemmermeyer y Cancello encontrada en á mbar del Mioceno basal (Burdigaliano) de la Repú blica Dominicana. Se presentan algunos comentarios sobre las diferencias para distinguir entre Rhinotermes y Dolichorhinotermes.

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“…1). Two well-supported clades within the Rhinotermitidae are 1) the subfamily Rhinotermitinae (with, e.g., Parrhinotermes and Schedorhinotermes), and 2) the one including Coptotermes, Reticulitermes, and Heterotermes (Emerson, 1971;Quennedey and Deligne, 1975;Kitade and Lo, 1998). The branching pattern of the other genera remains highly hypothetical.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Caste morphology and development in termitogeton nr. planus (insecta, isoptera, rhinotermitidae)

Parmentier

Roisin

2002

Journal of Morphology

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The termite family Rhinotermitidae displays a wide diversity in its patterns of social organization in castes. The genus Termitogeton probably branched off early in the evolution of this family. We studied the developmental pathways of a putative undescribed species from New Guinea, Termitogeton nr planus. The development begins with two white inactive instars (larvae), the second of which possesses small wing buds. These are followed by a relatively homogenous group of active immature stages (pseudergates) among which a biometric study revealed the presence of four instars. The first of these instars possesses wing buds that regress at subsequent molts. The external morphology of older instars resembles that of higher termite workers. Older pseudergates can differentiate into presoldiers and then into soldiers, but they are also able to molt into a unique stage with long wing pads (nymph), preceding the imago. Colony maturity can be reached with about 10(3) individuals. The sex ratio is near 1:1 in all castes except soldiers, among which females are more numerous than males. The caste pattern of T. nr. planus is reminiscent of those of the Kalotermitidae and Termopsidae, and of Prorhinotermes among the Rhinotermitidae. None of these taxa possess a true worker caste, permanently diverted from imaginal development: social tasks are done by unspecialized immatures that retain a full array of developmental options, including that of proceeding to the imago. The most remarkable trait of T. nr. planus is the presence in all second-instar individuals of wing buds that later regress to reappear in the single nymphal stage. We suggest that the traditional definitions of the terms larvae, nymphs, and pseudergates should be revised because they cannot be satisfactorily applied to the castes of Termitogeton.

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L'arme frontale des soldats de termites. I. Rhinotermitidae

Cited by 55 publications

References 5 publications

Philopatric reproduction, a prime mover in the evolution of termite sociality?

Philopatric reproduction, a prime mover in the evolution of termite sociality?

New Dolichorhinotermes from Ecuador and in Mexican Amber (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Caste morphology and development in termitogeton nr. planus (insecta, isoptera, rhinotermitidae)

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