Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-r7xzm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T08:13:47.915Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Metabolic rates in different castes and instars of a drywood termite Bifiditermes beesoni (Gardner) (Isoptera)*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2011

Mohammad Afzal
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Get access

Abstract

A comparison of the metabolic rates of different castes and instars was estimated by measuring the biological half-life of the radioisotope I131. The metabolism in the soldier caste was not only higher than alates and dealates, but also pre-soldiers. The rate of metabolism increased with an increase in the age of the nymphs. The termites which were provided with food had slow metabolism compared to those kept under starvation. The studies are helpful in understanding the phenomenon of ‘temporal polyethism’ among termites.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 1984

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Afzal, M. (1981) Studies on the biology of Bifiditermes beesoni (Gardner) (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae). Ph.D. thesis, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 661 pp.Google Scholar
Afzal, M. (1983a) Radioisotope studies of trophallaxis in a drywood termite Bifiditermes beesoni (Gardner) (Isoptera) I. Effect of group size on the rate of food exchange. Material u. Organismen. 18 (in press).Google Scholar
Afzal, M. (1983b) Radioisotope studies of trophallaxis in a drywood termite Bifiditermes beesoni (Gardner) (Isoptera) II. Mutual feeding potentialities of soldiers and nymphs. Material u. Organismen. 18 (in press).Google Scholar
Afzal, M. and Ahmad, M. (1983) Entrance hole selection and sealing behaviour of a drywood termite Bifiditermes beesoni (Gardner) (Isoptera) for colony establishment. Sociobiology (in press).Google Scholar
Gösswald, K. and Kloft, W. (1963) Tracer experiments of food exchange in ants and termites. Proc. Symp. Radiation and Radioisotopes Applied to Insects of Agricultural Importance, Athens, IAEA, Vienna, pp. 2542.Google Scholar
Harris, W. V. and Sands, W. A. (1965) The social organization of termite colonies. Symp. zool. Soc. Lond. 14, 113131.Google Scholar
McMahan, E. A. (1979) Temporal polyethism in termites. Sociobiology 4, 153168.Google Scholar
Nutting, W. L. (1969) Flight and colony foundation. In Biology of Termites (Edited by Krishna, K. and Weesner, F. M.), Vol. I, pp. 233288. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oster, G. F. and Wilson, E. O. (1978) Caste and Ecology in the Social Insects. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.Google ScholarPubMed
Sen-Sarma, P. K. and Kloft, W. (1965) Trophallaxis in pseudoworkers of Kalotermes flavicollis (Fabricius) (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) using radioactive I131. Proc. Zool. Soc. Calcutta 18, 1416.Google Scholar
Stuart, A. M. (1969) Social behaviour and communication. In Biology of Termites (Edited by Krishna, K. and Weesner, F. M.), Vol. I, pp. 193232. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weesner, F. M. (1960) Evolution and biology of termites. A. Rev. Ent. 5, 153170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar