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Biocommunication of Animals pp 161–190Cite as

Termite Communication During Different Behavioral Activities

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Abstract

This chapter reviews the communication that occurs among termites performing different behavioral activities. Termites are social insects, and social activities require communication signals that are emitted by signaler individuals and perceived by receiver individuals. Termite castes are mostly blind, and the communication among individuals occurs predominantly through chemical and mechanical cues. The chemical communication involves pheromones that elicit behavioral responses from the individuals; these semiochemicals signal the trail from the nest to food, the presence of enemies, the location of reproductive partners and provide cues for the recognition of nestmates. In addition, indirect communication occurs during building activities through a self-organized mechanism in which the information that elicits termite behavior comes from changes in the environment and does not require direct contact among individuals.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank to CNPq (Proc. No. 305374/2010-9) and FAPESP (Proc. No. 2009/01404-2) for financial support in their termite research.

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  1. Laboratório de Cupins, Departamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista – UNESP, Campus Rio Claro. Av. 24A, No. 1515, Bela Vista, Rio Claro, SP, CEP: 13506-900, Brazil

    Ana Maria Costa-Leonardo & Ives Haifig

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  1. Ana Maria Costa-Leonardo
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  2. Ives Haifig
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Correspondence to Ana Maria Costa-Leonardo .

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  1. Telos - Philosophische Praxis, Bürmoos, Austria

    Guenther Witzany

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Costa-Leonardo, A.M., Haifig, I. (2014). Termite Communication During Different Behavioral Activities. In: Witzany, G. (eds) Biocommunication of Animals. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7414-8_10

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