JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2017, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (06): 73-78.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2006.201604016

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Trail-following activity of Odontotermes formosanus foragers for fungus-garden materials

Trail-following activity of Odontotermes formosanus foragers for fungus-garden materials   

  1. 1. Co-Innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037,China; 2. The Administration Bureau of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum, Nanjing 210014,China
  • Online:2017-12-18 Published:2017-12-18

Abstract: 【Objective】Odontotermes formosanus is an important fungus-growing termite. In this study, we investigated trail-following activity of O. formosanus foragers of extracts of fungus garden, outer epidermis of the trunk of Liriodendron chinense× L. tulipifera,and pine wood powder infected by Gloeophyllum trabeum(PWG). 【Method】The rate of trail-following response and selection coefficient of the different materials were evaluated using the streak plate method. The analyzed materials included the top layer of fungus garden in the main chamber(TFM), middle layer of fungus garden in the main chamber(MFM), bottom layer of fungus garden in the main chamber(BFM), fungus garden in the satellite chamber(FSC).【Result】From the results, the best chemical was determined. Furthermore, trail-following activities were compared using extracts from the fungus garden, TEL and PWG. Moreover, the effects of concentrations of the fungus garden extracts on trail-following activity were studied. O. formosanus foragers showed the highest trail-following activity for N-hexane; trail-following activities for ethyl alcohol, acetone, and ethyl acetate varied irregularly, and were the lowest for distilled water. BFM induced the highest trail-following activity among all analyzed fungus-garden materials, therefore, it was best for extraction. The linear relationship between the concentration of N-hexane solution(x)and rate of trail-following response(y)could be expressed by the equation:y = 1.695 8x3-13.346x2 + 30.137x + 33.409.【Conclusion】Regarding the extracts for trail-following activity, N-hexane was the best chemical. The fungus garden in the O. formosanus chambers induced obviously trail-following activity in the foragers. The trail-following activity for the fungus garden was fairly higher than that for the field-collected materials, and similar for PWG. BFM induced the highest trail-following activity, followed by TFM, and MFM and FSC induced the lowest activity. However, there were no significant differences among them.

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