The Unusual Neotenic System of the Asian Dry Wood Termite, Neotermes koshunensis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)

In most lower termites, colonies are headed by neotenic reproductives of both sexes after the primary reproductives (i.e., the queen and king) are lost. The production of a neotenic sexual is inhibited by the presence of a primary reproductive of the same sex. We found an exception in the caste sys...

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Main Authors: Yasushi Miyaguni, Koji Sugio, Kazuki Tsuji
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana 2013-03-01
Series:Sociobiology
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Online Access:https://www.periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/13
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author Yasushi Miyaguni
Koji Sugio
Kazuki Tsuji
author_facet Yasushi Miyaguni
Koji Sugio
Kazuki Tsuji
author_sort Yasushi Miyaguni
collection DOAJ
description In most lower termites, colonies are headed by neotenic reproductives of both sexes after the primary reproductives (i.e., the queen and king) are lost. The production of a neotenic sexual is inhibited by the presence of a primary reproductive of the same sex. We found an exception in the caste system of the dry wood termite Neotermes koshunensis (Kalotermitidae). The neotenic caste is exclusively male. Moreover, production of male neotenics is completely inhibited not only by the presence of a king but also by the presence of a queen. Therefore, it is likely to be difficult for N. koshunensis colonies to recover their reproductive pairs.
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language English
publishDate 2013-03-01
publisher Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
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series Sociobiology
spelling doaj-art-9f962fee88674f258e3fe6a3f322505b2025-08-20T03:18:55ZengUniversidade Estadual de Feira de SantanaSociobiology0361-65252447-80672013-03-01601The Unusual Neotenic System of the Asian Dry Wood Termite, Neotermes koshunensis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)Yasushi Miyaguni0Koji Sugio1Kazuki Tsuji2Kagoshima UniversityUniversity of the RyukyusUniversity of the Ryukyus In most lower termites, colonies are headed by neotenic reproductives of both sexes after the primary reproductives (i.e., the queen and king) are lost. The production of a neotenic sexual is inhibited by the presence of a primary reproductive of the same sex. We found an exception in the caste system of the dry wood termite Neotermes koshunensis (Kalotermitidae). The neotenic caste is exclusively male. Moreover, production of male neotenics is completely inhibited not only by the presence of a king but also by the presence of a queen. Therefore, it is likely to be difficult for N. koshunensis colonies to recover their reproductive pairs. https://www.periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/13neotenic reproductivesorphaned colonycaste differentiationNeotermes koshunensis
spellingShingle Yasushi Miyaguni
Koji Sugio
Kazuki Tsuji
The Unusual Neotenic System of the Asian Dry Wood Termite, Neotermes koshunensis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)
Sociobiology
neotenic reproductives
orphaned colony
caste differentiation
Neotermes koshunensis
title The Unusual Neotenic System of the Asian Dry Wood Termite, Neotermes koshunensis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)
title_full The Unusual Neotenic System of the Asian Dry Wood Termite, Neotermes koshunensis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)
title_fullStr The Unusual Neotenic System of the Asian Dry Wood Termite, Neotermes koshunensis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)
title_full_unstemmed The Unusual Neotenic System of the Asian Dry Wood Termite, Neotermes koshunensis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)
title_short The Unusual Neotenic System of the Asian Dry Wood Termite, Neotermes koshunensis (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)
title_sort unusual neotenic system of the asian dry wood termite neotermes koshunensis isoptera kalotermitidae
topic neotenic reproductives
orphaned colony
caste differentiation
Neotermes koshunensis
url https://www.periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/13
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