Minimizing moving distance in deposition behavior of the subterranean termite

Chouvenc

2021

Front Zool

Background Foraging in group living animals such as social insects, is collectively performed by individuals. However, our understanding on foraging behavior of subterranean termites is extremely limited, as the process of foraging in the field is mostly concealed. Because of this limitation, foraging behaviors of subterranean termites were indirectly investigated in the laboratory through tunnel geometry analysis and observations on tunneling behaviors. In this study, we tracked subsets of foraging workers from juvenile colonies of Coptotermes formosanus (2-yr-old) to describe general foraging behavioral sequences and to find how foraging workers allocate time between the foraging site (food acquisition or processing) and non-foraging site (food transportation). Results Once workers entered into the foraging site, they spent, on average, a significantly longer time at the foraging site than the non-foraging site. Our clustering analysis revealed two different types of foraging workers in the subterranean termite based on the duration of time they spent at the foraging site and their foraging frequency. After entering the foraging site, some workers (cluster 1) immediately initiated masticating wood fragments, which they transferred as food boluses to recipient workers at the foraging site. Conversely, the recipient workers (cluster 2) moved around after entering the foraging site and received food from donating workers. Conclusions This study provides evidence of task specialization within foraging cohorts in subterranean termites.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential time allocation of foraging workers in the subterranean termite

Chouvenc

2021

Front Zool

“…However, some experimental studies of food search efficiency have provided a basic understanding of transport efficiency. These studies mainly focused on the relationship between soil environmental conditions, tunnel patterns, and transport behavior, which are directly related to transport efficiency ( Evans 2003 , Arab and Costa-Leonardo 2005 , Bardunias and Su 2010 , Lima and Costa-Leonardo 2012 , Lee et al 2020 , Mizumoto et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the surface irregularity of termite tunnels on food transport efficiency: a simulation study

Park

Journal of Insect Science

2023

Self Cite

Termites are believed to have evolved in a way that optimizes their foraging efficiency, which involves both searching for food and transporting it efficiently. Although the search efficiency has been well-studied through tunnel pattern analysis, transport efficiency has received limited attention due to the challenges of directly observing behavior that is highly influenced by environmental conditions. In this study, we introduce an individual-based model to simulate transport behavior and examine transport efficiency (E) by considering the tunnel surface irregularities and curvature, which are critical environmental factors. The model is characterized by four control variables: tunnel curvature (k1), termite stopping time at irregularity sites (k2), irregularity distribution (k3), and irregularity density (k4). The simulation results indicate that as k1 increases, E decreases, while k3 has little impact on E. The impact of k4 on E is decisive; when k4 ≤ 6, an increase in k4 results in increased traffic jam frequency and a faster reduction in E. However, when k4 > 6, the jamming frequency is not significantly affected, reducing the decrease in E. k2 strongly contributes to reducing E without significantly affecting the frequency. In the discussion section, we explore potential mechanisms that termites use to maintain transport efficiency in heterogeneous soils, and discuss how to improve the model to better reflect real-termite systems.

“…Some previous studies showed that C. formosanus also transported clay to fill the void volumes within tree holes or bait stations ( Henderson, 2008) . Such behaviors may result from tunnel excavation and subsequent transport processes ( Li & Su, 2008 ; Lee et al, 2020 ). Some evidence also showed that these behaviors may be important for the foraging of lower subterranean termites because they preferred to aggregate and feed on food which was artificially covered/filled with clay ( Wang & Henderson, 2014 ; Wang, Henderson & Gautam, 2015 ; Xiong et al, 2018a ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of clay materials and moisture levels on habitat preference and survivorship of Formosan subterranean termite,Coptotermes formosanusShiraki (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae)

Jin

Chen

Wen

et al. 2020

PeerJ

Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, usually transport clay materials into tree hollows and bait stations. Our previous research showed that C. formosanus preferred to aggregate in the locations containing field-collected clay samples, but it was not clear whether this preference was influenced by clay types and/or moisture. In the present study, we conducted multiple-choice tests under low-moisture (25% moisture) or moderate-moisture (50% moisture) conditions to evaluate the aggregation and wood-feeding preferences of C. formosanus responding to hollow wooden cylinders (simulation of tree hollows) or baiting containers (simulation of bait stations) filled with different clay materials (bentonite , kaolin, chlorite, illite, or attapulgite), soil, or unfilled. Under low-moisture conditions, the majority of termites were found in the wooden cylinders or baiting containers filled with bentonite. Under moderate-moisture conditions, however, termites preferred to aggregate in wooden cylinders filled with chlorite or attapulgite; the percentages of termites that stayed in baiting containers filled with chlorite, attapulgite or soil were similar, which were significantly higher than those that filled with kaolin, illite, or unfilled. We then conducted no-choice tests to study the effect of clay materials on termites. Under low-moisture conditions, clay filled in the baiting containers significantly increased survivorship and body water percentage (an indicator of termite vigor) of termites, whereas no similar effect was detected under moderate-moisture conditions. This study demonstrated that both clay type and moisture affect termites’ preference.