Keywords :
Termites, Macrotermes, underground passages,
colony segregation, foraging.
บทคัดย่อ :
The complete underground passage systems of
six colonies of the termite Macrotermes carbonarius in a dry
evergreen forest within the Sakaerat Environmental Research
Station, northeast Thailand, were excavated. We found 4-
10 main underground passages radiating out from each
mound, with smoothly plastered floors (6-35 cm below the
soil surface). All of the underground passages were well built
(2.5-13 cm wide) and one of the main passages extended
33 m from the nest. The total length of the passages of each
colony varied between 33.8 m and 112.8 m. It was demonstrated
that 5 adjacent colonies of M. carbonarius generally
segregated their underground passages horizontally. Vertical
segregation of the passages of M. carbonarius from a subterranean
nest of the neighboring species, Macrotermes
annandalei was also found. In contrast to other Macrotermes
species, the underground passage system of M. carbonarius
only consists of major tracks and lacks a dense network of
passages in the terminal part of the system. In the vicinity of
their foraging sites, M. carbonarius forages in the open using
pavement trackways on the ground, which are considered to
be equivalent to a dense network of fine passages of other
Macrotermes species.
เอกสารอ้างอิง :
Inoue, T., Kirtibutr, N., & Abe, T. (2001). Underground passage system of Macrotermes carbonarius (Isoptera, Termitidae) in a dry evergreen forest of northeast Thailand. Insectes Sociaux, 48(4), 372-377.
