Escaping and repairing behaviors of the termite Odontotermes formosanus (Blattodea: Termitidae) in response to disturbance.

ABSTRACT: The escaping behavior of termites has been documented under laboratory conditions; however, no study has been conducted in a field setting due to the difficulty of observing natural behaviors inside wood or structures (e.g., nests, tunnels, etc.). The black-winged termite, Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki), is a subterranean macrotermitine species which builds extensive mud tubes on tree trunks. In the present study, 41 videos (totaling ∼2,700 min) were taken on 22 colonies/subcolonies of O. formosanus after their mud tubes were partially damaged by hand. In general, termites consistently demonstrated three phases of escape, including initiation (wandering near the mud-tube breach), individual escaping (single termites moving downward), and massive, unidirectional escaping flows (groups of

SUBMITTER: Xiong H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5858535 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature