Assistant Professor of Biology Virginia Wesleyan University Virginia Beach, Virginia
The subterranean portion of termite nests such as those in the genus Reticulitermes are diffuse, and their structure poorly understood compared to their wood galleries excavated and constructed aboveground, and compared to other species of termites and subterranean ants. These subterranean galleries connect large colonies spanning potentially thousands of square meters, and provide a more stable environment for overwintering when wood galleries are uninhabitable. Previous studies of Reticulitermes nest building and tunneling behavior have largely taken place in arenas only centimeters deep, and consist largely of a single medium (sand or soil). While a majority of galleries are found near the soil surface, in the field nests have been reported to reach several meters in depth, which can traverse several soil horizons. These horizons can have relatively stable temperatures, but vary in soil composition, density, microbial communities, and moisture depending on location, time of year, land use, and/or habitat. This study examined the tunneling and nest building behavior of field collected Reticulitermes in arenas that replicate the soil horizons and depth collected from underneath existing colonies in Virginia Beach, VA. This was a preliminary study, maintaining all other factors outside of soil composition and depth constant, to determine the effectiveness of these lab based arenas in examining subterranean termite nest architecture.
