title: Nest-Gallery Development and Caste Composition of Isolated Foraging Groups of the Drywood Termite, Incisitermes minor (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae).
abstract: An X-ray computed-tomographic examination of nest-gallery development from timbers naturally infested by foraging groups of Incisitermes minor colonies was conducted. This study documents the colonization process of I. minor to new timbers and how the isolated groups maintain their nest-gallery system. The results suggested that development of a nest-gallery within a suitable wood item is not random, but shows selection for softer substrate and other adaptations to the different timber environments. Stigmergic coordinations were expressed in dynamic changes of the nest-gallery system; indicated by fortification behavior in sealing and re-opening a tunnel approaching the outer edge of the timber, and accumulating fecal pellets in particular chambers located beneath the timber surface. The study also examines the caste composition of isolated groups to discover how I. minor sustains colonies with and without primary reproductives.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan. himmi@rish.kyoto-u.ac.jp.|Research Center for Biomaterials, Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Jl. Raya Bogor km. 46 Cibinong, Bogor 16911, Indonesia. himmi@rish.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: S Khoirul
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Himmi
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan. tsuyoshi@rish.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan. yanase@h3news1.kais.kyoto-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yanase
authors.affiliation: Oya Shiroari Giken, 438-1 Oaza-ichiya, Nachikatsuura-cho, Higashimuro-gun, Wakayama 649-5141, Japan. oyasiroarigiken@za.ztv.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oya
authors.affiliation: Nara National Museum, 50 Noborioji-cho, Nara 630-8213, Japan. torigoe@narahaku.go.jp.
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Torigoe
authors.affiliation: Kyushu National Museum, 4-7-2 Ishizaka, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0118, Japan. akada004001@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akada
authors.affiliation: Kyushu National Museum, 4-7-2 Ishizaka, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0118, Japan. imazu@kyuhaku.jp.
authors.forename: Setsuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imadzu
keywords: Incisitermes minor; X-ray computed tomography; caste composition; nest-gallery development