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Intraspecific aggression, colony identity and foraging distances in Sudanese Microtermes spp. (Isoptera: Termitidae: Macrotermitinae)
Author(s) -
PEARCE MICHAEL J.,
COWIE ROBERT H.,
PACK ANGELA S.,
REAVEY DUNCAN
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
ecological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.865
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2311
pISSN - 0307-6946
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2311.1990.tb00785.x
Subject(s) - intraspecific competition , termitidae , foraging , biology , aggression , alate , zoology , ecology , botany , social psychology , pest analysis , psychology , homoptera , aphididae
. 1. Intraspecific aggression between termite major workers was used to obtain estimates of foraging distances for three Microtermes species in Sudan. 2. Maximum foraging distance recorded for M. sp. nr albopartitus (Sjöstedt) in Khartoum was 11.3 m, giving an estimated minimum colony area of 100 m 2 . This is probably an underestimate. In the Tokar Delta, individuals from single colonies of M. najdensis Harris were encountered up to 42 m apart, giving a colony area of 1390 m 2 . 3. Intraspecific aggression could not be used reliably to distinguish members of different colonies of M. lepidus Sjöstedt. Soil barrier formation between groups of workers in petri dishes may be of use as a supplementary technique, especially for species showing no clear aggression. 4. Experiments on isolated laboratory colonics of M. sp. Nr lepidus Sjöstedt, established from alates collected in Khartoum, further confirmed the value of inter‐colony aggression for indicating colony identity. 5. The complications introduced into estimation of subterranean termite foraging areas by overlap and interdigitation of colonies are discussed.