PSYCHE 
Vol. 84 June, 1977 No. 2 
PAIRING BEHAVIOR IN 
HODOTERMES MOSSAMBICUS (ISOPTERA)i 
By R. H. Leuthold 1 2 and O. Bruinsma 
Division of Animal Physiology, Zoological Institute, 
University of Bern, Engehaldenstr. 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland; 
and The International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology, 
P.O. Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya 
Introduction 
The dispersal flight of termites, especially of those species living 
in savannah areas with alternating dry and wet seasons, is generally 
related to the beginning of a rainy period. The precise time of flight 
may be controlled by exogenous or endogenous factors and varies 
from species to species. Most species fly at dawn or dusk or at 
night whereas the few daylight-fliers usually swarm only under hu- 
mid atmospheric conditions. After individual landing the alates of 
both sexes will meet in pairs. A typical “calling” posture of the 
female was observed in many species and was interpreted by sev- 
eral authors as chemical attraction. However, no precise evidence 
for this interpretation was given from field observations and no 
data about the spatial range of attraction were specified. After 
meeting, the sexes of many species proceed in “tandem”, a typical 
formation, in which the male usually follows the female closely on 
the search for a suitable nesting site. The termite considered herein, 
Hodotermes mossambicus, is a dry grass harvesting species, excep- 
tionally adapted to survive under extreme climatic conditions of 
semi-arid grasslands. The species differs in several aspects from 
other termites: the workers forage in relatively loose formation 
above ground often in sunshine and are able to use individual op- 
1 Research supported by the Swiss National Foundation, grant no. 3.2810.74. 
2 A short summary of this subject is part of a communication presented in Proc. 
VIII Congr. IUSSI 1977, Wageningen. 
Manuscript received by the editor November 28, 1977. 
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