Termite’s royal cradle: does colony foundation success differ between two subterranean species?

Brossette, Lou; Millot, Alexis; Blanchard, Solène; Dupont, Simon; Lucas, Christophe

doi:10.1007/s00040-017-0571-x

Cited by 8 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…The reported differences of grooming/antennation between R. flavipes and R. grassei suggest a species-specific role of parental care in the success of colony foundation, which might explain the differences in the colony foundation success observed between those two species (Brossette et al, 2017;Leniaud et al, 2011). Further studies should nevertheless be conducted to investigate whether the intrinsic quality of eggs and juveniles differ between R. flavipes and R. grassei, and whether parental care can mitigate the costs of these intrinsic differences in terms of foundation success.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Second, the presence of speciesspecific patterns of social interactions may provide important insights into our understanding of the invasive success of R. flavipes (Brossette et al, 2017;Perdereau et al, 2010;Perdereau, Dedeine, Christidès, Dupont, & Bagnères, 2011). Second, the presence of speciesspecific patterns of social interactions may provide important insights into our understanding of the invasive success of R. flavipes (Brossette et al, 2017;Perdereau et al, 2010;Perdereau, Dedeine, Christidès, Dupont, & Bagnères, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The workers, nymphs (i.e., future queens and kings), and soldiers of each of these colonies were field sampled in March 2014 in pine forests on Oléron Island in France and immediately transferred into plastic boxes (18 × 24 × 9.5 cm) with their own nest material and moistened sand (Brossette et al, 2017). The workers, nymphs (i.e., future queens and kings), and soldiers of each of these colonies were field sampled in March 2014 in pine forests on Oléron Island in France and immediately transferred into plastic boxes (18 × 24 × 9.5 cm) with their own nest material and moistened sand (Brossette et al, 2017).…”

Section: Sampling and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The workers, nymphs (i.e., future queens and kings), and soldiers of each of these colonies were field sampled in March 2014 in pine forests on Oléron Island in France and immediately transferred into plastic boxes (18 × 24 × 9.5 cm) with their own nest material and moistened sand (Brossette et al, 2017). To prevent uncontrolled sibmating, each colony was checked twice a day to collect the newly produced winged alates (females and males, i.e., future new queens and kings) and to transfer these individuals into sex-specific new plastic boxes (50 mm diameter; Starpack) containing moistened pure cellulose paper (47 mm diameter; Whatman, GE Healthcare; Brossette et al, 2017). Back in the laboratory, these field-sampled colonies were maintained under standard conditions (80% relative humidity, 26°C, 13.5 L/10.5 D cycle) until nymphs became reproductive adults.…”

Section: Sampling and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each pair was then transferred to an experimental glass case allowing detailed behavioral observations (Brossette et al, 2017) and containing a food source composed of a pure cellulose disk (90 mm in diameter; Whatman, GE Healthcare) supplemented with a solution composed of mineral salts, vitamins, and nitrogen (Argoud, Mocotte, & Sternalski, 1982). This led to a total of 70 and 86 experimental pairs of R. flavipes and R. grassei, respectively.…”

Section: Sampling and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unbalanced biparental care during colony foundation in two subterranean termites

Brossette

Meunier

Dupont

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Parental care is a major component of reproduction in social organisms, particularly during the foundation steps. Because investment into parental care is often costly, each parent is predicted to maximize its fitness by providing less care than its partner. However, this sexual conflict is expected to be low in species with lifelong monogamy, because the fitness of each parent is typically tied to the other's input. Somewhat surprisingly, the outcomes of this tug‐of‐war between maternal and paternal investments have received important attention in vertebrate species, but remain less known in invertebrates. In this study, we investigated how queens and kings share their investment into parental care and other social interactions during colony foundation in two termites with lifelong monogamy: the invasive species Reticulitermes flavipes and the native species R. grassei. Behaviors of royal pairs were recorded during six months using a non‐invasive approach. Our results showed that queens and kings exhibit unbalanced investment in terms of grooming, antennation, trophallaxis, and vibration behavior. Moreover, both parents show behavioral differences toward their partner or their descendants. Our results also revealed differences among species, with R. flavipes exhibiting shorter periods of grooming and antennation toward eggs or partners. They also did more stomodeal trophallaxis and less vibration behavior. Overall, this study emphasizes that despite lifelong monogamy, the two parents are not equally involved in the measured forms of parental care and suggests that kings might be specialized in other tasks. It also indicates that males could play a central, yet poorly studied role in the evolution and maintenance of the eusocial organization.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sampling and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The workers, nymphs (i.e., future queens and kings), and soldiers of each of these colonies were field sampled in March 2014 in pine forests on Oléron Island in France and immediately transferred into plastic boxes (18 × 24 × 9.5 cm) with their own nest material and moistened sand (Brossette et al, 2017). To prevent uncontrolled sibmating, each colony was checked twice a day to collect the newly produced winged alates (females and males, i.e., future new queens and kings) and to transfer these individuals into sex-specific new plastic boxes (50 mm diameter; Starpack) containing moistened pure cellulose paper (47 mm diameter; Whatman, GE Healthcare; Brossette et al, 2017). Back in the laboratory, these field-sampled colonies were maintained under standard conditions (80% relative humidity, 26°C, 13.5 L/10.5 D cycle) until nymphs became reproductive adults.…”

Section: Sampling and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sampling and Crossingsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Unbalanced biparental care during colony foundation in two subterranean termites

Brossette

Meunier

Dupont

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Spatial and genetic distribution of a north American termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, across the landscape of Paris

2018

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On the reproductive strategies post-colony foundation: major termite pest species with distinct ecological habits differ in their oviposition dynamics

da Silva,

Costa-Leonardo

2023

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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Termite colony foundation precedes the incipient stage, when the first oviposition cycle takes place, followed by months of reproductive inactivity. The royal couple is supposed to cease oviposition during this period, investing energy to care for the first brood. When a suitable number of alloparents differentiate, egg-laying resumes. Here we followed oviposition dynamics, embryo development and queen/king body changes in laboratory colonies of the major pest species Coptotermes gestroi (Rhinotermitidae) and Cryptotermes brevis (Kalotermitidae) during 9 months. We show that they differ in these oviposition dynamics, as C. gestroi queens displayed an uninterrupted oviposition whereas C. brevis laid a cohort of eggs and ceased oviposition during a 3-month period (lag phase). C. gestroi oviposition dynamic was remarkable and suggests that occurrence of progeny was not a limiting factor, thus queens and kings were able to concomitantly invest energy in reproduction and parental care. These findings contrast those reported for rhinotermitids from temperate areas, and we discuss the likely reasons for such a condition, including endogenous rhythms, avoidance of a high mortality rate of the first progeny and adaptation to the weather conditions of the Neotropical region. Oviposition dynamic in C. brevis resembled those of several termite species, in which the royal couple cease reproduction to care for the first brood. Rearing conditions did not influence oviposition dynamics (egg-laying cycle followed by a lag phase), thus our results on the oviposition of C. gestroi and C. brevis correspond to different reproductive strategies post-foundation adopted by these pest species.

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Termite’s royal cradle: does colony foundation success differ between two subterranean species?

Cited by 8 publications

References 71 publications

Unbalanced biparental care during colony foundation in two subterranean termites

Unbalanced biparental care during colony foundation in two subterranean termites

Spatial and genetic distribution of a north American termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, across the landscape of Paris

On the reproductive strategies post-colony foundation: major termite pest species with distinct ecological habits differ in their oviposition dynamics

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