Burial behaviour by dealates of the termite Pseudacanthotermes spiniger (Termitidae, Macrotermitinae) induced by chemical signals from termite corpses

Insectes Sociaux

Volumn 59, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 119-125

  Chouvenc, T ^a,c   Robert, A ^b   Semon E ^c   Bordereau, C ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA   (United States)

^b INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DÉVELOPPEMENT   (France)

^c UNIVERSITÉ DE BOURGOGNE   (France)

Author keywords

Imago; Incipient colony; Pathogens; Pleometrosis; Semiochemicals

Indexed keywords

CANNIBALISM; FATTY ACID; SEMIOCHEMICAL; SIGNAL; TERMITE; WORKER CASTE;

ISOPTERA; MACROTERMITINAE; PSEUDACANTHOTERMES SPINIGER; TERMITIDAE;

EID: 84855732218     PISSN: 00201812     EISSN: 14209098     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s00040-011-0197-3     Document Type: Article

References (34)

1. Arathi H. S., Burn I. and Spivak M. 2000. Ethology of hygienic behaviour in the honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Behavioural repertoire of hygienic bees. Ethology 106: 365-379.
2. Ataya H. and Lenoir A. 1984. Le comportement nécrophorique chez la fourmi Lasius niger L. Insect. Soc. 31: 20-33.
3. Brandl R., Hacker M., Bagine R. K. N. and Kaib M. 2001. Geographic variation of polygyny in the termite Macrotermes michaelseni (Sjöstedt). Insect. Soc. 48: 134-137.
4. Choe D.-H., Millar J. G. and Rust M. K. 2009. Chemical signals associated with life inhibit necrophoresis in Argentine ants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106: 8251-8255.
5. Chouvenc T. and Su N.-Y. 2010. Apparent synergy among defense mechanisms in subterranean termites (Rhinotermitidae) against epizootic events - The limits and potential for biological control. J. Econ. Entomol. 103: 1327-1337.
6. Cremer S., Armitage S. A. O. and Schmid-Hempel P. 2007. Social immunity. Curr. Biol. 17: 693-702.
7. Crosland M. W. J., Lok C. M., Wong T. C., Shakarad M. and Traniello J. F. A. 1997. Division of labour in a lower termite: the majority of tasks are performed by older workers. Anim. Behav. 54: 999-1012.
8. Darlington J. P. E. C. 1985. Multiple primary reproductives in the termite Macrotermes michaelseni (Sjöstedt). In: Caste Differentiation in Social Insects (Watson J. A. L., Okot-Kotber B. M. and Noirot Ch., Eds), Pergamon, New York. pp 187-200.
9. Darlington J. P. E. C. 1994. Mound structure and nest population of the termite Pseudacanthotermes spiniger (Sjöstedt) in Kenya. Insect Sci. Applic. 15: 445-452.
10. Diez L., Deneubourg J. L., Hoebeke L. and Detrain C. 2011. Orientation in corpse-carrying ants: memory or chemical cues? Anim. Behav. 81: 1171-1176.
11. Gordon D. M. 1983. Dependence of necrophoric response to oleic acid on social context in the ant Pogonomyrmex badius. J. Chem. Ecol. 9: 104-111.
12. Grassé P.-P. 1982. Termitologia. Tome I: Anatomie - Physiologie - Reproduction. Masson, Paris.
13. Hart A. G. and Ratnieks F. L. W. 2002. Waste management in the leaf-cutting ant Atta colombica. Behav. Ecol. 13: 224-231.
14. Haskins C. P. and Haskins E. F. 1974. Note on necrophoric behaviour in the archaic ant Myrmecia vindex (Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). Psyche 81: 258-267.
15. Howard D. F. and Tschinkel W. R. 1976. Aspect of necrophoric behaviour in the red imported ant, Solenopsis invicta. Behaviour 56: 157-180.
16. Kaib M., Hacker M., and Brandl R. 2001. Egg-laying in monogynous colonies of the termite Macrotermes michaelseni (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae). Insect. Soc. 48: 231-237.
17. Lamberty M., Zachary D., Lanot R., Bordereau C., Robert A., Hoffmann J. A. and Bulet P. 2001. Constitutive expression of a cysteine-rich antifungal and linear antibacterial peptide in a termite insect. J. Biol. Chem. 276: 4085-4096.
18. Logan J. W. M., Cowie R. H. and Wood T. G. 1990. Termite (Isoptera) control in agriculture and forestry by non-chemical methods: a review. Bull. Entomol. Res. 80: 309-330.
19. Lopez-Riquelme G. O., Malo E. A, Cruz-Lopez L. and Fanjul-Moles M. L. 2006. Antennal olfactory sensitivity in response to task-related odours of three castes of the ant Atta mexicana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Physiol. Entomol. 31: 353-360.
20. Mjöberg E. 1920. Results of Dr E. Mjöberg's Swedish scientific expeditions to Australia, 1910-1913. Isoptera. Ark. Zool. 12: 1-128.
21. Nutting W. L. 1969. Flight and colony foundation. In: Biology of Termites, Vol. 1 (Krishna K. and Weesner F. M., Eds), Academic Press, New York. pp 233-282.
22. Pearce M. J. 1987. Seals, tombs, mummies, and tunneling in the drywood termite Cryptotermes (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae). Sociobiology 13: 217-226.
23. Peppuy A. 1999. Termites du Nord Vietnam, communication chimique et isolement spécifique. Thèse de Doctorat, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris VI, 155 pp.
24. Purnamadjaja A. H. and Russell R. A. 2005. Pheromone communication in robot swarm: Necrophoric behaviour bee behaviour and its replication. Robotica 23: 731-742.
25. Renucci M., Tirard A. and Provost E. 2011. Complex undertaking behaviour in Temnothorax lichtensteini ant colonies: from corpse-burying behaviour to necrophoric behaviour. Insect. Soc. 58: 9-16.
26. Roisin Y. 1993. Selective pressures on pleometrosis and secondary polygyny: a comparison of termites and ants. In: Queen Number and Sociality in Insects (Keller L., Ed), Oxford University Press, NewYork. pp 402-421.
27. Rosengaus R. B., Traniello J. F. A and Bulmer M. S. 2011. Ecology, behaviour and evolution of disease resistance in termites. In: Biology of Termites: a Modern Synthesis (Bignell D. E., Roisin Y. and Lo N., Eds) Springer, Dordrecht. pp 165-191.
28. Skidmore B. A. and Heithaus E. R. 1988. Lipid cues for seed-carrying by ants in Hepaticaamericana. J. Chem. Ecol. 14: 2185-2196.
29. Su N.-Y. 1982. An ethological approach to the remedial control of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Ph. D. dissertation, University of Hawaii, Honolulu.
30. Thorne B. L. 1984. Polygyny in the Neotropical termite Nasutitermes corniger: life history consequences of queen mutualism. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 14: 117-136.
31. Trumbo S. T. and Robinson G. E. 1997. Learning and task interference by corpse-removal specialists in honey bee colonies. Ethology 103: 966-975.
32. Visscher P. K. 1983. The honey bee way of death: necrophoric behaviour in Apis mellifera. Anim. Behav. 31: 1070-1076.
33. Wilson E. O., Durlach N. I. and Roth L. M. 1958. Chemical releasers of necrophoric behaviour in ants. Psyche 65: 108-114.
34. Wilson-Rich N., Stuart R. J. and Rosengaus R. B. 2007. Susceptibility and behavioural response of the dampwood termite Zootermopsis angusticollis to the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernea carpocapsae. J. invertebr. Pathol. 95: 17-25.