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Colony composition, protozoan transfer and some life history characteristics of the woodroach Cryptocercus punctulatus Scudder (Dictyoptera: Cryptocercidae)

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Summary

Adult pairs of the woodroach Cryptocercus punctulatus were reported to be incapable of founding colonies independently because the presence of a recently molted juvenile was required to transfer encysted symbiotic gut protozoa to newly hatched roaches. Field and laboratory evidence presented here shows that adult pairs of C. punctulatus do found colonies and that juveniles are generally not present to provide neonates with protozoan cysts. Newly hatched nymphs acquire their intestinal symbionts by feeding on the anal fluids of the adult roaches, i.e., by proctodeal trophallaxis. Conditions other than a symbiotic association with protozoans may have contributed to the evolution of eusociality in termites (Isoptera).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, North Carolina State University, 27650, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    Christine A. Nalepa

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  1. Christine A. Nalepa
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Nalepa, C.A. Colony composition, protozoan transfer and some life history characteristics of the woodroach Cryptocercus punctulatus Scudder (Dictyoptera: Cryptocercidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 14, 273–279 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299498

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00299498

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