Termites Assess Wood Size by Using Vibration Signals

Contrary to the common perception that termites are indiscriminant eaters, termites choose their food carefully; however, the methods by which they choose food are not well understood. Using choice experiments and recordings of termites feeding on wooden blocks of different sizes, we show that worke...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2005-03, Vol.102 (10), p.3732-3737
Main Authors: Evans, Theodore A., Joseph C. S. Lai, Toledano, Emilie, McDowall, Lee, Rakotonarivo, Sandrine, Lenz, Michael, Hölldobler, Bert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustics
Animal biology
Animal communication
Animals
Ants
Biological Sciences
Communication
Comparative analysis
Cryptotermes domesticus
Engineering Sciences
Evolution
Food Preferences
Food supply
Insect reproduction
Isoptera - physiology
Kalotermitidae
Life Sciences
Pink noise
Signals
Social evolution
Social insects
Termites
Tunnels
Vibration
Wood
Worker insects
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Summary:Contrary to the common perception that termites are indiscriminant eaters, termites choose their food carefully; however, the methods by which they choose food are not well understood. Using choice experiments and recordings of termites feeding on wooden blocks of different sizes, we show that worker drywood termites (Cryptotermes domesticus) use the resonant frequency of a block of wood to assess its size. Drywood termites showed differences in their response to vibration recordings of termites compared with artifically generated signals, suggesting that they can discriminate the source of vibration. Furthermore, fewer workers matured into neotenic reproductives when recorded termite signals were played, suggesting that vibration signals play an important role in termite communication.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0408649102