Differential Undertaking Response of a Lower Termite to Congeneric and Conspecific Corpses

Authors

Qian Sun, University of KentuckyFollow
Kenneth F. Haynes, University of KentuckyFollow
Xuguo Zhou, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

Undertaking behaviour is an essential activity in social insects. Corpses are often recognized by a postmortem change in a chemical signature. Reticulitermes flavipes responded to corpses within minutes of death. This undertaking behaviour did not change with longer postmortem time (24 h); however, R. flavipes exhibited distinctively different behaviours toward dead termites from various origins. Corpses of the congeneric species, Reticulitermes virginicus, were buried onsite by workers with a large group of soldiers guarding the burial site due to the risk of interspecific competition; while dead conspecifics, regardless of colony origin, were pulled back into the holding chamber for nutrient recycling and hygienic purposes. The burial task associated with congeneric corpses was coupled with colony defence and involved ten times more termites than retrieval of conspecific corpses. Our findings suggest elicitation of undertaking behaviour depends on the origin of corpses which is associated with different types of risk.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-18-2013

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Scientific Reports, v. 3, article no. 1650.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep01650

Repository Citation

Sun, Qian; Haynes, Kenneth F.; and Zhou, Xuguo, "Differential Undertaking Response of a Lower Termite to Congeneric and Conspecific Corpses" (2013). Entomology Faculty Publications. 56.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/entomology_facpub/56