ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ON TILE SYMBIOSIS OF TER ITOMYCES ...

Discussion
The bolus-carried by the foraging workerx was dark In colour
and was probably composed of soil and/or the foraged materialo The
foragers are carryino a far higher tu=ber of fUngi within their gut
than those termites in the neatip there being a reduction In rxL=ber
from foragers to nurse workers to the young, The foragers would
also be contminated by spores on the outside of their body and In
these two ways the spores would be easily Introduced Into the food-
store-accounting for the high numberx of spores-found there. The
species vf4ungi found In the guts (Table 5.2*16), are all comnonly
found in the Mokwa soils (McDonald-1968)9 and many occur In the-
foodstore (Table 5*2*9)9
Dy contrast the bolung when presentl In nurne workers and young
was much lighter In colour. This-probably Indicates that In1he
young It consists of Term1t9=ceso, Tervdtom ! ycee,, being isolated with
such high frequency from their out (Table !;, 2*15), The gut of the
nurse workers way contain fungus combo the Isolation of Termitomyces
being lower than In the young.
These results probably, reflect,, difterences In-diets the-older
workers feeding on funUtts comb with Termitamypes forming, &n important
part, In the diet -of
the young terldtose Vary taw Ispecios of fUng,
apart frcm Termit2. n yces, were found In the 710=9 which would further
indicate that they are feeding on Termitomwess alone, It they were
feeding on comb the fungal mpecies present In It would be Introduced
into the gut and be Isolated As In the nurse w()rkerm.
only & very small proportion of the foragers carry jerwita"ye..
(Table 5*2*15)o Thus when the food to plaCed In the foodstore it jLs
203.
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