EFFECT OF TERMITE SOLDIERS ON THE FORAGING BEHAVIOR OF COPTOTERMES-FORMOSANUS (ISOPTERA, RHINOTERMITIDAE) IN THE PRESENCE OF PREDATORY ANTS

The specialized defensive traits of termite soldiers are thought to ha ve evolved largely in response to attacks by ants. Having a greater pr oportion of soldiers protecting groups of foraging workers could enabl e termites to expand their foraging areas and enhance their ability to find new food sources. This study examined the effect of Pheidole meg acephala(F.) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on Coptotermes formosanus Shira ki foraging behavior, and whether the presence of higher numbers of te rmite soldiers enabled foraging workers to better withstand ant attack s and maintain access to food sourses. We also examined how difference s in soldier proportions affected the construction of new galleries by foraging workers in the absence of ants, and examined whether termite s with higher numbers of soldiers moved into new areas faster than tha n groups with fewer soldiers. In the first experiment, ants completely occupied the foraging tube and blocked termite access to their food s ource after an average of only 2d for groups with 5% soldiers compared to an average of 6.7d for groups with 20% soldiers. However, there wa s no evidence that termite groups with 20% soldiers were more likely t o explore new areas or construct new foraging galleries faster than gr oups with only 5% soldiers. Our results indicate that the primary role of C. formosanus soldiers in repelling ant attacks against foraging w orkers appears to be to guard breaks in the tunnel until workers are a ble to repair the damage.