Our research focuses on experimental interactions among young dampwood termite colonies (Zootermopsis) of known age, parentage, and caste composition, set up to simulate circumstances that occur in nature when growing colonies meet under the bark of a tree they share as a food and nesting resource. Most individuals within a Zootermopsis colony retain the possibility of differentiating into a neotenic reproductive if the opportunity arises, whether through the "normal" route of a nymph differentiating into a neotenic reproductive, or through the "exceptional" process of differentiation into a soldier reproductive of either sex. Contact between young colonies within a single piece of wood frequently results in the death of established reproductives, and is at least one context that promotes the differentiation of reproductive soldiers. Reproductive soldiers present in such interactions sometimes exhibit aggressive behaviors. Our study explores the behavior of reproductive soldiers during intraspecific interactions between colonies of different reproductive structures. This research has implications for theories regarding the evolution of polyphenism in termites.
Species 1: Isoptera Termopsidae Zootermopsis nevadensis (dampwood termite)
Keywords: competition, polyphenism
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