3 replies to this topic

[michiganantsinmyyard]

I know of ants fighting and consuming termites, but has there been documentation/witnessing of termites fighting eachother? I would imagine the subterranean ones wouldn't. but what about surface foraging Macrotermes? Just a little thought I had in my mind.

[Nare]

This absolutely happens. I can speak for eastern subterranean termites, where in their native range there is inter-colony aggression. Even within colonies, neotonics (secondary reproductives) can fight (see this video). Imagoes can also fight, especially in cases where more than 2 found together.

[michiganantsinmyyard]

Very interesting, thank you for the response.

[NorthernTrav]

This absolutely happens. I can speak for eastern subterranean termites, where in their native range there is inter-colony aggression. Even within colonies, neotonics (secondary reproductives) can fight (see this video). Imagoes can also fight, especially in cases where more than 2 found together.

 

Not sure if this is true in Australia. One of my friends tested this with his termites (adding soldiers from different colonies into the same setup and seeing if they would fight) and they were fine, and now he has an 8 royal termite colony