Endogenous synchronization of the chemical signature of Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) worker termites

Termites of the genus Reticulitermes are characteristic of temperate regions. Their colonies comprise various castes, the most numerous being that of workers which can develop into soldiers or secondary reproductives (neotenics). Each caste has a mixture of hydrocarbons (HCs) on the cuticle forming...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annales de la Société entomologique de France 2011-01, Vol.47 (1-2), p.202-208
Main Authors: Bagnères, Anne-Geneviève, Darrouzet, Eric, Landré, Xavier, Christidès, Jean-Philippe
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
caste differentiation
cuticle dynamics
Cuticular hydrocarbons
Ecology, environment
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Life Sciences
Protozoa. Invertebrata
Reticulitermes flavipes
Symbiosis
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Summary:Termites of the genus Reticulitermes are characteristic of temperate regions. Their colonies comprise various castes, the most numerous being that of workers which can develop into soldiers or secondary reproductives (neotenics). Each caste has a mixture of hydrocarbons (HCs) on the cuticle forming a chemical signature. The primary aim of this study was to compare the changes in the chemical signature of a population of worker termites fed on paper with juvenile hormone to differentiate them into soldiers with a control population of termites fed only on paper or wood for one month. Gas chromatography was used to analyze the cuticular profiles of Reticulitermes flavipes termites to determine whether they changed, and, if so, when and how. The data collected over one month showed that the workers fed with JH did not differentiate into soldiers but that there were progressive changes in the hydrocarbon profile independent of the treatment. These results indicate that the differentiation of the chemical signature of the worker caste is a dynamic process, depending only on time and not on colony membership, confirming that, for these termites, this signature has a lesser role in colony membership than caste membership, unlike the chemical signatures of other social insects. The temporal process of this cuticular change is also associated with a change in the alkene/methyl-branched alkane ratio.
ISSN:0037-9271
2168-6351
DOI:10.1080/00379271.2011.10697712