The royal food of termites shows king and queen specificity.

ABSTRACT: Society in eusocial insects is based on the reproductive division of labor, with a small number of reproductive individuals supported by a large number of nonreproductive individuals. Because inclusive fitness of all colony members depends on the survival and fertility of reproductive members, sterile members provide royals with special treatment. Here, we show that termite kings and queens each receive special food of a different composition from workers. Sequential analysis of feeding processes demonstrated that workers exhibit discriminative trophallaxis, indicating their decision-making capacity in allocating food to the kings and queens. Liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry analyses of the stomodeal food and midgut contents revealed king- and queen-specific compounds, includ

SUBMITTER: Tasaki E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10338896 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature