Insectes Sociaux

, Volume 33, Issue 3, pp 221–248 | Cite as

Termite colony dynamics as revealed by the sex- and caste-ratios of whole colonies ofIncisitermes schwarzi banks (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)

  • P. Luykx
Article
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Summary

Seventy field-collected colonies of the termiteIncisitermes schwarzi Banks were analyzed in terms of caste- and sex-ratios. The main findings were: (1) approximately equal numbers of males and females were found among the workers in colonies that had not yet begun nymphal and imaginal molts; (2) there was an excess of males among the workers of colonies that had begun to form nymphs and alates, and among the soldiers of all colonies; this is believed to be a secondary effect of the fact that (3) female workers develop into nymphs and alates before males do, and female alates leave the colony, on average, earlier than males; (4) comparison of colonies at a stage before the nymphal molts have begun, with colonies containing nymphs, suggests a loss of about 10 percent of the females during the transition to nymphal stages; (5) one period of alate production occurs per year, lasting about 2 months, with 20 to 50 percent of the workers turning into alates; (6) 26 percent of the colonies had one or both primary reproductives replaced by secondary reproductives, leading to a certain amount of inbreeding; (7) except for greater maturity, there was no apparent difference in composition between colonies headed by primary reproductives and those headed by secondary reproductives; (8) soldiers made up about 7 percent of the average colony, numerically, with small soldiers 3 times as numerous as large soldiers; (9) colonies produce small soldiers first, later adding large soldiers; soldier production is lower when nymphs and alates are forming. The findings are discussed in relation to the reproductive cycle and life cycle of the colony, the amount of inbreeding in the population, and the unusual chromosomal mechanism of sex determination.

Keywords

Life Cycle Avant Cycle Reproductif Parmi Chromosomal Mechanism 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

La dynamique de la colonie de termite, révélée par la proportion des sexes et des castes des colonies entières d'Incisitermes schwarzi Banks (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)

Resume

J'ai réalisé une étude de soixante-dix colonies naturelles du termiteIncisitermes schwarzi Banks, en analysant la proportion des sexes et des castes. Les résultats les plus importants sont: (1) les ouvriers mâles et les ouvriers femelles étaient à peu près égaux en nombres dans les colonies qui n'avaient pas encore commencé à faire de nymphes et d'ailés; (2) il y avait un excès de mâles parmi les ouvriers des colonies qui avaient commencé à faire des nymphes et des ailés, et parmi les soldats de toutes les colonies; c'est probablement à cause du fait que (3) les ouvriers femelles se transforment en nymphes et ailés avant les mâles, et les femelles quittent la colonie plus tôt, en moyenne, que les mâles; (4) pendant la transformation d'ouvrier en nymphe, il se peut qu'il y ait une perte d'à peu près 10 pour cent des femelles; (5) il y a une seule période de production d'ailés par an, qui dure environ deux mois; à peu près 20 à 50 pour cent des ouvriers se transforment en ailés; (6) dans 26 pour cent des colonies, un seul ou les deux reproducteurs se trouvent remplacés par des reproducteurs secondaires, produisant une certaine consanguinité; (7) à part une maturité plus avancée, il n'y avait pas de différence apparente de composition entre les colonies des reproducteurs originaux et celles des reproducteurs remplaçants; (8) les soldats constituent environ 7 pour cent de la colonie moyenne, numériquement, les petits soldats étant trois fois plus nombreux que les grands; les colonies produisent d'abord des petits soldats, et les grands plus tard; la production des soldats est plus basse quand les ouvriers se transforment en nymphes et ailés. Les résultats sont discutés par rapport au cycle reproductif et au cycle de vie de la colonie, au degré de consanguinité dans la population, et à l'insolite mécanisme chromosomique déterminant le sexe.

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Copyright information

© Masson 1986

Authors and Affiliations

  • P. Luykx
    • 1
  1. 1.Department of BiologyUniversity of MiamiCoral GablesU.S.A.

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