Influence of Soldiers on Exploratory Foraging Behavior in the Formosan Subterranean Termite, Coptotermes formosanus (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae).

ABSTRACT: Termites are eusocial insects that live in organized colonies consisting of reproductives, workers, and soldiers. Soldiers are specialized for defense but are expensive to maintain, as they are incapable of husbandry and must be fed and groomed by workers. The soldiers of several species influence foraging behavior by acting as scouts that initiate foraging or by mediating worker behavioral plasticity during food exploration. These behaviors imply that soldiers may play a keystone role in termite colony function, apart from defense. Subterranean termite workers tunnel through soil in search of food while accompanied by varying proportions of soldiers, depending on the species and colony conditions. Previous studies have shown that soldiers accelerate worker exploratory tunneling behavior i

SUBMITTER: McCarthy J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9966325 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature