Social organization in the drywood termite,Cryptotermes cavifrons: is there polyethism among instars?

Abstract Division of labor among larvae and nymphs was investigated in the drywood termite, Cryptotermes cavifrons, by constructing an ethogram. There was no evidence that the first two larval instars (L1 & L2) contributed to colony labor. They appeared to be dependent castes. The bulk of the work was done by the last larval instar (L4) and the three nymphal stages (N1 to N3). However, for 14 of the 15 acts monitored there was no significant variation in the behaviors performed by these four instars. There was no evidence of any strong age or physical caste polyethism in the working instars (L3 to N3). This is in sharp contrast to the social Hymenoptera where age or physical caste polyethism among workers has been found in nearly all species studied. One major advantage of sociality, particularly among insects, is thought to be increased efficiency from division of labor. Therefore, the lack of any strong division of labor among the workforce in this termite is of interest. Keywords: TermiteIsopterasocial insectbehaviorage polyethismdivision of labor