Effects of food type and foraging distance on trophallaxis in the subterranean termite Reticulitermes virginicus (Isoptera : Rhinotermitidae)

In most termites, food is ingested and carried back to the nest within the gut. Nourishment may then be transferred to nestmates via trophallaxis. Cos ts and benefits of obtaining different types of food at varying distances m ay result in different quantities of material transferred from returning fo ragers to nestmates via trophallaxis. Using the radioactive tracer cobalt-6 0, we examined the effect of white rot and brown rot fungal decay and the e ffect of foraging distance, from 0 to 10m, on forager consumption of food a nd on the amount of gut material transferred from foragers to nestmates in the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes virginicus (Banks). The ty pe of fungal decay significantly affected forager ingestion of food (P=0.01 ), but did not significantly affect the amount of material transferred to n estmates. The foraging distances studied did not affect food consumption as measured by uptake of isotope, but significantly more gut material was tra nsferred to nestmates by foragers visiting distant food sources than those visiting close food sources (0 and 10m, P=0.0043; 1 and 10m, P=0.0118). Imp lications of these results and the possibility that trophallaxis is a metho d of communicating food resource profitability in termites are discussed.