ECOLOGICAL STUDIES ON TILE SYMBIOSIS OF TER ITOMYCES ...

Mcrotermes aDecies
There was a complex of 7 sympatric Microtermes species occurring
in the savanna areaq for which the taxonomy has still to be clarifiedo
There were also 2, or 3 species in the Rabba forest area* The different
species were given different letters of the alphabet to distinguish
them.,
They have diffuse subterranean nests consisting of single fungus
combs in chambers UP to 3-5 cm diametert the chambers being linked by
narrow galleries
(Plate 20*09 The nests probably extend below 1*5 m,
with the queen cell being 50-100 cm; deep (Wood and Johnson 1978)o The
termites move deeper Into the soil in the&7 season, the majority of
fungus combs being found below 50 cme Fungus combs are also common in
abandoned mounds of M, bellicosus and In the walls of living utounds,
Hicrotermes op. * D was found asnociated with mounds of TrInerviterrms.
The fungus combs are small, of 5 cmmaximum diameter and an
average weight of Ig (Wood and Johnson 1978), The fresh material 113
lighter In colour than the older which in daric grey* The faecal pellet
structure in obviotLs In the freish materials but not In the older*
Mycelial projection3 stretch from the comb to the sides of tho chn era.
The workers are dimorphic but there is OnlY One tYPe of soldier*
These are small species, the head width of the soldier being 0.6-0.8 V=.
They were coemmon in primary savanna woodland and forest, and some
species increase in abundance under cultivation as they exploit the
crop residues when potential competing species are rcmoved,
They feed on all: brms of vood and plant debrial subterranean rootg
and on some living plant tissues making them the major termite crop pent.
58e