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[Vol. 95 
foraging experiments, were immediately confronted by a squad of 
both soldiers and workers. Instead of retreating, the workers 
attacked the soldier’s abdomen, legs, and head. Many workers were 
killed by the soldier but it was eventually subdued. The worker’s 
behavior helped increase its survival and might be important in 
securing and protecting territory. How worker behavior is inte- 
grated in the foraging dynamics of natural groups of termites is 
unclear. 
The role of the soldier was also important in simulated foraging. 
The number of soldiers participating in the interactions was critical 
to the successful invasion of one colony by another. When the 
number of soldiers was equivalent, there was nearly complete deci- 
mation of both simulated foraging groups regardless of the number 
of workers. When the number of soldiers was disproportionate, the 
group with the larger number of soldiers successfully invaded. Since 
soldiers migrate into areas of conflict between groups, the soldier 
density may be substantially greater in natural foraging groups 
where intercolonial or interspecific confrontations are frequent. 
Locations in the colony interior may have few soldiers, so the sol- 
dier ratios suggested by Haverty (1977) could be an artifact of the 
collection procedure. Unfortunately, H. aureus colonies are difficult 
to excavate, so the absolute numbers of different caste members and 
their distribution is not known. The number of soldiers available for 
protection is important for colony preservation and may even con- 
tribute to territory expansion. Therefore, the number of soldiers in 
H. aureus colonies under natural conditions is probably highest in 
the aggravated parts of the colony or at intercolonial (interspecific 
and intraspecific) boundaries. 
Actual aggressive interactions between natural colonies of H. 
aureus have never been observed. Large colonies may invade and 
destroy smaller colonies of H. aureus or other termites to secure and 
control additional resources (i.e. nesting areas, moisture) and food. 
Foraging populations attack areas providing ample vegetation, 
although foraging is random once a suitable site is located (Jones et 
al., 1987). If colony aggression helps stabilize (Haverty et al., 1975) 
or enlarge territories of H. aureus, I would expect large dominant 
colonies with infrequent small colonies. Large colonies would 
increase the ecological and/or economic impact of this species in 
areas with few competitors and predators. The aggressive behavior 
