FREQUENCY OF SOME BEHAVIORAL-PATTERNS IN COLONIES OF KALOTERMES-FLAVICOLLIS (ISOPTERA KALOTERMITIDAE) - THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AND VIBRATORY MOVEMENTS AS MECHANISMS FOR SOCIAL INTEGRATION

Behavioural repertories of individuals from different developmental st ages and castes of the lower termite Kalotermes flavicollis were inves tigated by focal animal sampling performed on laboratory colonies. Our study focuses on those behavioural patterns used as means of communic ation in inter-individual transmission of information. Vibratory movem ents, especially those performed by nymphs, appear to communicate shor t-term colony needs through mechanical-tactile stimulation. Allogroomi ng patterns among colony members seems the most likely way to exchange messages through pheromone spreading, and the interactions with the r eproductives emphasize the key role they assume in receiving and trans mitting signals on which the regulation of social equilibrium is proba bly based.