Proportion of foraging workers and food provisioning efficiency of the Formosan subterranean termite

Age polyethism and task allocation are well documented in the social hymenoptera. However, knowledge of this topic for termites is relatively limited, and is likely quite different from the social hymenoptera due to their drastically different developmental and behavioral biology. It is known that in Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, older workers tend to forage out of the central nest for food, while younger workers tend to perform tasks closer to the central nest. The present study further investigates this trend, specifically monitoring task re-allocation of younger workers after older foraging workers were periodically removed. In addition, the overall proportion of foraging workers was monitored before and after the removal of older foragers. Results of this study indicate that workers of C. formosanus exhibit age polyethism as well as behavioral flexibility when the demography of the colony is altered. The foraging workers proportion of 20% was maintained despite that foragers were periodically removed, indicating that foraging proportion may be an intrinsic characteristic of this species. However, the progressive removal of older workers resulted in the reduction of food provisioning efficiency when performed by younger workers.