title: Rounding a corner of a bent termite tunnel and tunnel traffic efficiency.
abstract: Subterranean termites construct underground tunnels, tens to hundreds of feet, to reach feeding sites and to transport food items to their nest. To ensure a high rate food return to the nest, an optimized tunnel should be constructed. We found that termites (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki) fill the corner of a bent tunnel with soil particles excavated from tunnel tip where their digging behavior is activated. The corner-filling behavior, eventually, made a sharp corner smooth-rounded. In the present study, we showed that the corner-filling behavior could play an important role in improving the tunnel traffic efficiency. To do this, we compared the termites' time spent for passing corners between with a right-angled flat tip (RA-corner), corresponding to the sharp corner, and with a rounded tip (R-corner) corresponding to the smooth-rounded corner. As a result, the passing time in the R-corner was significantly shorter than in the RA-corner. In addition, tunnel width effect was discussed in terms of individual movement.
authors: Department of Entomology and Nematology, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, 3205 College Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314, USA.
authors: Sang-Hee
authors: SH
authors: Lee
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Bardunias
authors: Nan-Yao
authors: NY
authors: Su
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D020049:Isoptera; D008124:Locomotion; D013037:Spatial Behavior