Structure and function of subterranean gallery systems of soil-feeding termites Pericapritermes nitobei and Sinocapritermes mushae

Abstract

Soil-feeding termites are a critical trophic guild comprising more than a quarter of all termite species. Most soil-feeding termites build subterranean and diffuse gallery systems that are difficult to observe. In this study, we excavated the gallery systems of two soil-feeding termite species, Pericapritermes nitobei (Shiraki) and Sinocapritermes mushae (Oshima & Maki). Termite-harboring spaces were clusters of small cells connected with tunnels, with the cells usually adjacent to underground pieces of wood, stone, thick roots, and fibrous roots. Clusters of cells in a gallery system are referred to as nodes. In total, 90 nodes of five P. nitobei colonies and 64 nodes of seven S. mushae colonies were examined. The forager proportion of P. nitobei was the highest in nodes adjacent to fibrous roots, and that of S. mushae was the highest in nodes adjacent to pieces of wood, indicating that organic matter accumulated between the fibrous roots and underneath wood acted as a carbon source for the termites to feed upon. Nursed castes of P. nitobei, including larvae and eggs, were most frequently observed under thick roots and stones, but those of S. mushae were not located under any specific object. The nesting and feeding sites of P. nitobei were separate, but those of S. mushae overlapped. We speculate that the various food sources and their distributions are likely the main selection force for the gallery structures of soil-feeding termites.

Termite’s Twisted Mandible Presents Fast, Powerful, and Precise Strikes

“…These mandibles have been hypothesised to be a defensive weapon, especially in tunnels 6,12 , where both termites and their enemies are confined to narrow spaces (e.g., approximately 2-mm wide, as reported for Pe. nitobei and Sinocapritermes mushae 19,38 ). Narrow tunnels limit termite movement as well as the gape of biting or slashing mandibles, thereby reducing their defensive performance.…”

“…nitobei is a soil-feeding termite that does not have a centralised nest; they distribute their eggs and larvae in subterranean tunnels beneath stones 19 . They generally forage on organic matter adjacent to plant roots and rarely appear on the ground surface 19 . Because Pe.…”

Termite Assemblage and Damage on Tree Trunks in Fast-Growing Teak Plantations of Different Age: A Case Study in West Java, Indonesia

“…Termite functional groups are sorted based on their adaptation to the level of dietary substrate humification [ 46 ]. Group IIf termites use fresh litter biomass, a high-carbon, high-energy source that is available around trees, for their gardening activities [ 54 , 55 ], while most genera in group III use only litter biomass with a high degree of decomposition, which has low carbon and energy contents compared to fresh litter biomass [ 35 , 46 , 56 ]. These adaptations cause group III to have scattered colonies that are interconnected to one another and keep expanding over time to compensate for their low-energy diet, which contrasts with the localized spread of group IIf termites around trees, as indicated by the presence of galleries and runways on teakwood trunks.…”

Naturalization and Control ofCoptotermes gestroi(Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) in a Taiwanese Forest

“…Because the three monitored colonies had already reached the mature status, the number of their colonial individuals was not likely limited by colony developmental time. The global distribution of C. gestroi is highly associated with urbanization (Li et al 2013, Chouvenc et al 2015b, and few studies report on the presence of C. gestroi in forests; thus, C. gestroi may be more adaptive to the urban environment than to the forest environment. Haagsma and Rust (1995), who suggested the positive effect of urbanization on termite colony size, demonstrated that another subterranean termite, Reticulitermes hesperus Banks, has smaller colonies in less-disturbed areas but larger colonies in urban areas.…”