Termites are social insects that live in colonies headed by reproductive castes. The breeding
system is defined by the number of reproductive individuals in a colony and the castes to …

Reproductive division of labor is a hallmark of social insect societies where individuals
follow different developmental pathways resulting in distinct morphological castes. There …

Eusocial insects exhibit the most striking example of phenotypic plasticity. There has been a
long controversy over the factors determining caste development of individuals in social …

Neotropical forest ecosystems harbour significant biodiversity. To develop effective insect
conservation practices, it is important to understand the factors that influence the diversity …

Termites of the genus Reticulitermes are ecologically and economically important wood-
feeding social insects that are widespread in the Holarctic region. Despite their importance …

It is long established that queens of social insects, including termites, maintain their
reproductive dominance with queen primer pheromones (QPPs). Yet, the QPP chemistry has …

One major advantage of sexual reproduction over asexual reproduction is its promotion of
genetic variation, although it reduces the genetic contribution to offspring. Queens of social …

Termites are known as social insects worldwide. Presently in China 473 species, 44 genera
and 4 families of termites have been reported. Of them, 111 Reticulitermes species are …

Background A decade ago, the mixed reproductive strategy Asexual Queen Succession
(AQS) was first described in termites. In AQS species, the workers, soldiers and dispersing …

Termite colonies are typically founded by a pair of sexually reproducing dispersers, which
can sometimes be replaced by some of their offspring. Some Reticulitermes and …