Behavioural elements and their meaning in incipient laboratory colonies of the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes Michaelseni (Isoptera: Macrotermitinae)

Most of the duties in an incipient colony of the fungus-growing termite Macrotermes michaelseni (Sjoestedt) are perfomed by the workers. While foraging was observed only in major workers, all of the other elements were seen in both major and minor workers. The behavioural elements were grouped as follows: (I) Alarm behaviour, shown by shaking of the whole body; (II) Building behaviour, including palpation of the inner surface of the nest, picking up of a piece of soil, transport of the soil, and deposition of the soil; (III) Procurement of food by foraging, chewing and swallowing of hay pieces, deposition of semi-liquid faecal pellets on the fungus comb, claning of the fungus comb and the fungus nodules, and feeding from fungus nodules and old fungus comb; (IV) Moisture regulation either by water intake with the hypopharynx or water release through the mouth cavity; and (V) Interindividual behaviour, consisting of cleaning all the termite castes as well as the larvae, cleaning and moistening the eggs, feeding reproductives and larvae with a liquid and soldiers with fungus comb material, liquid transfer between workers, faecal intake from the larvae, facilitation of hatching and moulting of the larvae.