Social control of polymorphism in Zootermopsis.

Abstract

The sex-specific effects of reproductives and of soldiers on the reproductivity (i.e., tendency to develop into replacement reproductives) of pseudergates of Zootermopsis nevadensis were studied. Reproductives inhibit reproductivity in pseudergates of their own sex only. Reproductives neither inhibit nor stimulate reproductivity in pseudergates of the opposite sex. Reproductives do not require the presence of a reproductive of the opposite sex to stimulate them to inhibit reproductivity in pseudergates. Soldiers had no effect on the reproductivity of pseudergates. The effects of group size and of the presence or absence of reproductives on the development of last-stage nymphs of Z. nevadensis were studied. The size of experimental groups had no effect on the rates of stationary molts or alate molts, suggesting that the correlation between colony size and the onset of alate production in nature may be spurious. The presence or absence of reproductives had no effect on the rate of stationary molts or alate molts, suggesting that in Z. nevadensis neither group size nor the presence of reproductives has any direct effect on alate determination. It is suggested that in Z. nevadensis a form of nutritional castration can delay the onset of alate development; that is to say, that the onset of alate development is determined by the ratio of nutrient-gathering castes to nutrient-receiving castes in the colony. I have found what I believe to be an extraordinary example of deception in Z. nevadensis and Zootermopsis angusticollis. This is the first reported example of caste mimicry in a social insect, and may explain why supernumerary replacement reproductives are common in Z. nevadensis and Z. angusticollis but not in Zootermopsis laticeps. The compositions of 41 field-collected colonies of Zootermopsis were given and the data were analyzed for trends. Most notably, supernumerary replacement reproductives were common in Z. nevadensis and in Z. angusticollis but have never been found in Z. laticeps, by us or by anybody else. These findings are in accordance with our hypothesis of "caste mimicry" in Z. nevadensis and Z. angusticollis.