COLONY POPULATIONS AND BIOMASS IN NESTS OF THE AMAZONIAN FOREST TERMITE ANOPLOTERMES BANKSI EMERSON (ISOPTERA, TERMITIDAE)

The arboreal nests of the the termite Anoplotermes banksi are abundant in Central Amazonian primary rain forests. Colony size of 7 nests (we ight 92-6891 g) varied between 2, 593 and 39,256 individuals/nest (1.5 -22.1 g termites/nest). Average body fresh weight was 0.9 mg for worke rs and 2.1 mg for alates. Queens weighed 10-30 mg. No relationship bet ween nest weight and maturity was detected, as the ratio of workers to larvae was I:I, independent of nest size, and alates were found in ne sts weighing less than 200 g. Nests of A. banksi (12-18 ha(-1)) accoun ted for 12-15% of the nest density of ail Isopteran species, bur the c alculated fresh weight of the termites of this species (15-23 mg/m(2)) represented only 0.2-0.4% of the total termite biomass in the study a rea.