Skip to content
Free planNo credit card requiredStart writing
AI for Research home
AI for Research home
Dashboard
Sign inGet started

Search 250 million research papers

Read the abstract, see who wrote it and who cites it, and get the citation in APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard.

About 572 papers for “termite behavior”

PUBLICATION 444-502 Subterranean Termite Biology and Behavior

Dini M. Miller, Associate Professor, Extension Specialist et al. · 2013

Subterranean termites are the single greatest economic pest in the United States. These termites cause billions of dollars in damage each year to homes, historical structures, and commercial buildings. In addition to

Cited by 0

High exploration behavior of termite propagules can enhance invasiveness

Louis Pailler, Arthur Matte, Alexis Groseiller et al. · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2022

This dataset was collected using analyses of pictures taken at three observation times: 6, 24 and 48h. Variables were extracted using QGIS (v3.10.2). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for each observation time allowed to extract projection values of the two first PCs for each colonies.

Cited by 0Open access

High exploration behavior of termite propagules can enhance invasiveness

Louis Pailler, Arthur Matte, Alexis Groseiller et al. · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2022

This dataset was collected using analyses of pictures taken at three observation times: 6, 24 and 48h. Variables were extracted using QGIS (v3.10.2). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for each observation time allowed to extract projection values of the two first PCs for each colonies.

Cited by 0Open access

High Exploration Behavior of Termite Propagules Can Enhance Invasiveness

Louis Pailler, Arthur Matte, Alexis Groseiller et al. · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · 2022

Social life is usually associated with enhanced propagule pressure, which increases the chance of introducing several individuals during a single introduction event. Social insects are therefore among the most successful invasive species, benefiting from rapid establishment and increased foundation success in new habitats. In termites, propagule pressure may also be increased by the development of reproductive individuals from a small group of foraging workers. This suggests that enhanced exploration activity may increase propagule pressure through an elevated chance of transporting isolated groups of foragers. Here, we analyzed the exploration behavior of three termite species of the Reticulitermes genus, comparing the invasive species Reticulitermes flavipes (testing both native and introduced populations) to the native species Reticulitermes grassei and Reticulitermes lucifugus . Different features representative of the exploration capacity were measured during 48 h, including: the number of tunnels, the length of tunnels, the number of foragers, and the interindividual distance of foragers in a straight line or through tunnels. Our results show that compared to the native Reticulitermes species, R. flavipes foragers from both populations dug more tunnels with a longer total length, and individuals were more spatially dispersed and covered a larger exploration zone. These findings suggest that the enhanced exploration ability of R. flavipes may have played a role in its invasion success, by increasing its propagule pressure through a higher chance of human-mediated transport. In addition, the absence of differences between the native and introduced populations of R. flavipes suggests that the exploration behaviors facilitating the worldwide invasion of this species originated in its native range.

Cited by 4Open access

Overcoming Challenges in the Biomimetic Study of Termite Drumming Behavior

Ehsan Dehghan-Niri, Nihar Masurkar, Hamidreza Nemati et al. · 2024

Biological systems offer invaluable insights for pioneering new ideas in science and engineering. Dampwood and drywood termites, despite their small size, exhibit unique vibroacoustic wave generation abilities (known as drumming or headbanging) during their foraging and communication activities. This mechanism, used by some species to evaluate the thickness and quality of wood materials, presents a promising model for developing advanced bio-inspired robotic systems for inspection applications. Studying this behavior through a biomimetic approach is crucial due to the small size of termites and the complexities inherent in this behavior. This paper addresses the initial step in the biomimetic study of termites, focusing on precise measurement systems to observe their motion, the morphological shape of their heads, and sensing the vibroacoustic generation mechanisms. The challenges of establishing an accurate experimental setup to precisely measure this behavior, along with the precise dimensional measurement and replication of the termite head and nest, are discussed in this paper.

Cited by 0

Designing Collective Behavior in a Termite-Inspired Robot Construction Team

Justin Werfel, Kirstin Petersen, Radhika Nagpal · Science · 2014

Complex systems are characterized by many independent components whose low-level actions produce collective high-level results. Predicting high-level results given low-level rules is a key open challenge; the inverse problem, finding low-level rules that give specific outcomes, is in general still less understood. We present a multi-agent construction system inspired by mound-building termites, solving such an inverse problem. A user specifies a desired structure, and the system automatically generates low-level rules for independent climbing robots that guarantee production of that structure. Robots use only local sensing and coordinate their activity via the shared environment. We demonstrate the approach via a physical realization with three autonomous climbing robots limited to onboard sensing. This work advances the aim of engineering complex systems that achieve specific human-designed goals.

Cited by 592

Tyraminergic and Octopaminergic Modulation of Defensive Behavior in Termite Soldier

Yuki Ishikawa, Hitoshi Aonuma, Ken Sasaki et al. · PLoS ONE · 2016

In termites, i.e. a major group of eusocial insects, the soldier caste exhibits specific morphological characteristics and extremely high aggression against predators. Although the genomic background is identical to the other non-aggressive castes, they acquire the soldier-specific behavioral character during the course of caste differentiation. The high aggressiveness and defensive behavior is essential for colony survival, but the neurophysiological bases are completely unknown. In the present study, using the damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti, we focused on two biogenic amines, octopamine (OA) and tyramine (TA), as candidate neuromodulators for the defensive behavior in soldiers. High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis revealed that TA levels in the brain and suboesophageal ganglion (SOG) and the OA level in brain were increased in soldiers than in pseudergates (worker caste). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that TA/OA neurons that innervate specific areas, including the mandibular muscles, antennal nerve, central complex, suboesophageal ganglion, and thoracic and/or abdominal ganglia, were enlarged in a soldier-specific manner. Together with the results that pharmacological application of TA promoted the defensive behavior in pseudergates, these findings suggest that the increased TA/OA levels induce the higher aggressiveness and defensive behavior in termite soldiers. The projection targets of these soldier-specific enlarged TA/OA neurons may have important roles in the higher aggressiveness and defensive behavior of the termite soldiers, inducing the neuronal transition that accompanies external morphological changes.

Cited by 33Open access

Minimizing moving distance in deposition behavior of the subterranean termite

Sang‐Bin Lee, Sang‐Bin Lee, Nan‐Yao Su et al. · Ecology and Evolution · 2020

Subterranean termite nests are located underground and termites forage out by constructing tunnels to reach food resources, and tunneling behavior is critical in order to maximize the foraging efficiency. Excavation, transportation, and deposition behavior are involved in the tunneling, and termites have to move back and forth to do this. Although there are three sequential behaviors, excavation has been the focus of most previous studies. In this study, we investigated the deposition behavior of the Formosan subterranean termite, <i>Coptotermes formosanus</i> Shiraki, in experimental arenas having different widths (2, 3, and 4 mm), and characterized the function of deposited particles. We also simulated moving distance of the termites in different functions. Our results showed that total amounts of deposited particles were significantly higher in broad (4 mm width) than narrow (2 mm) tunnels and most deposited particles were observed near the tip of the tunnel regardless of tunnel widths. In addition, we found that deposited particles followed a quadratic decrease function, and simulation results showed that moving distance of termites in this function was the shortest. The quadratic decrease function of deposited particles in both experiment and simulation suggested that short moving distance in the decrease quadratic function is a strategy to minimize moving distance during the deposition behavior.

Cited by 21Open access

Thermochemical behavior of Eucalyptus grandis wood exposed to termite attack

Ezequiel Gallio, Henrique Römer Schulz, Laíse Guerreiro et al. · Maderas Ciencia y tecnología · 2020

This study aimed to evaluate the variations in thermal and chemical characteristics of juvenile Eucalyptus grandis wood submitted to a deterioration test by Nasutitermes termites. For this purpose, a biodeterioration test with termites was conducted according to ASTM D 3345 (2008), in which, after the end of the period corresponding to the test (40 days), we evaluated the mass loss, chemical composition and thermal stability of the main components of the deteriorated wood samples and those belonging to the control group. We found that deterioration due to exposure of the samples to Nasutitermes sp. termites caused a mass loss of 66,88% for wood with a density at 12% moisture content of 412 kg/m 3 . The quantitative chemical composition showed a reduction in the contents of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Analysis of the variations of the organic functional groups related to the chemical composition of the wood by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and relative intensity of the spectral bands also showed reductions, demonstrating homogeneous deterioration of the main components of the deteriorated woods. The thermal stability showed an increase in deteriorated wood for most of the temperature ranges, mainly for those that corresponded to losses in moisture and volatiles (25 C -100 C), hemicelluloses (240 C -300 C), celluloses, and together with initial lignin degradation (310 C to 400 C), possibly due to the removal of cellulose and hemicellulose, as well as the deposition of substances expelled by the termites in the cell wall. From the results, we conclude that the termites do not have specificity regarding the chemical component and that the deterioration caused variations in the chemical composition of the wood, whereas the opposite was observed for thermal stability, which presented an increase in most of the temperatures ranges for the deteriorated woods compared to the control group.

Cited by 5Open access

A review on factors affecting the feeding behavior of termite

Zhang Shun-y · 2014

Termites are ancient social insects,their feeding behavior has a clear division of labor characteristics.Many studies have shown that environmental factors play significant roles in stimulation or inhibition of termites feeding behavior.This article is a brief review on a variety of natural environmental,physical and chemical factors on the feeding behavior of termites.

Cited by 0

Dataset and RScript - Effect of insecticide on termite alarm behavior

Thiago H.C. Mendonça, Cátila R. Silva, Sara Yuri M. Watanabe et al. · Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2023

Dataset and RScript of the MS "How to perceive the insecticide? The Neotropical termite <em>Nasutitermes corniger</em> (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) triggers alert behavior after exposure to imidacloprid".

Cited by 0Open access

Cooperative policing behavior regulates reproductive division of labor in a termite

Qian Sun, Jordan D. Hampton, Kenneth F. Haynes et al. · bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2020

Abstract Reproductive conflicts are common in insect societies where helping castes retain reproductive potential. One of the mechanisms regulating the conflicts is policing, a coercive behavior that reduces direct reproduction by other individuals. In eusocial Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps), workers or the queen act aggressively toward fertile workers, or destroy their eggs. In many termite species (order Blattodea), upon the death of primary queen and king, workers or nymphs can differentiate into neotenic reproductives and inherit the breeding position. During this process, competition among neotenics is inevitable, but how this conflict is resolved remains unclear. Here, we report a policing behavior that regulates reproductive division of labor in the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes . Our results demonstrate that the policing behavior is a cooperative effort performed sequentially by successful neotenics and workers. A neotenic reproductive initiates the attack of the fellow neotenic by biting and displays alarm behavior. Workers are then recruited to cannibalize the injured neotenic. Furthermore, the initiation of policing is age-dependent, with older reproductives attacking younger ones, thereby inheriting the reproductive position. This study provides empirical evidence of policing behavior in termites, which represents a convergent trait shared between eusocial Hymenoptera and Blattodea.

Cited by 3Open access

PHYSICAL, MECHANICAL AND THERMAL BEHAVIOR OF ADOBE STABILIZED WITH “SYNTHETIC TERMITE SALIVA”

Rômulo M. Gandia, Corrêa, Andrea A. R., Gomes, Francisco C. et al. · Figshare · 2019

ABSTRACT Adobe is an efficient construction material for several reasons, such as its thermal comfort, sustainability, and lower energy cost, as well as the simplicity of its production and execution. However, challenges such as water absorption, capillarity, and compressive strength should be investigated to improve its physical and mechanical properties. “Synthetic termite saliva” (STS) is an excellent stabilizer with high cohesive and hydrophobic power. Therefore, the objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of STS incorporation into adobe, analyzing its physical, mechanical and thermal properties. Five treatments were studied: 0 (control); 0.1; 0.2; 0.4 and 0.8% STS by mass. These adobe samples were evaluated according to bulk density, linear shrinkage, capillarity, water absorption, thermal conductivity and compressive strength, according to Norma Técnica de Edificación (NTE) E0.80 testing using a new methodology. Linear shrinkage decreases from 2.7 to 1.91 cm with 0.4% STS. Capillarity decreases with the increasing amounts of STS. Water absorption decreased from 12.03 to 6.31% using 0.4% STS, and its mass was reduced from 779 to 19 grams. The thermal conductivity showed no differences between concentrations. The compressive strength was reduced but was still acceptable based on NTE E.080. The stabilization of the adobe using STS showed an improvement in its physical properties, mainly due to its hydrophobic power.

Cited by 0Open access