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[Vol. 88 
dealate pairs after one year, and Beard (1974) obtained ca. 53 
individuals from R. flavipes dealate pairs after one year. 
King and Spink (1974) and Akhtar (1978) working with Copto- 
termes formosanus Shiraki and C. heimi (Wasmann), respectively, 
both obtained ca. 30 individuals from dealate pairs the first year. 
Since each of these workers utilized different temperature and 
rearing methods, and still obtained similar results, the observed 
growth rates are probably a fair approximation of that to be 
expected from field colonies. Such a growth rate implies that R. 
flavipes and R. virginicus dealate pairs (and probably other 
rhinotermitids as well) are K strategists (Matthew, 1976). Incipient 
colonies will be successful only if the dealate pairs establish nests in 
sites that are sparsely occupied by other members of the same 
species, and which possess adequate food and defense requirements 
necessary for slow, long term colony growth (Oster and Wilson, 
1978). 
Our laboratory data suggest that at least for R. virginicus, it 
might be possible for female dealates alone to parthenogenetically 
establish a colony with a reproductive potential equal to that of the 
normal male + female dealate combination. 6 This finding raises the 
question of whether all progeny resulting from the R. virginicus 
male + R. virginicus female combinations are sexual offspring, or 
whether some fraction might have been of parthenogenetic origin. 
We have also found that R. virginicus males readily mate with R. 
flavipes females in the laboratory, producing apparently viable 
progeny at rates comparable to those from same-species pairings. In 
contrast, the pairing of R. flavipes males with R. virginicus females 
results in nuptial cell construction, but only a very low rate of 
progeny production. We infer from our data that the progeny of the 
R. virginicus male + R. flavipes female combinations are true 
interspecific hybrids rather than parthenogenetic progeny, since 
paired R. flavipes females laid many eggs, but only one of them ever 
hatched. Since the larvae resulting from these mixed-species mat- 
6 None of the females were dissected to verify the absence of sperm. All alates however 
were taken from the logs before their normal flight period, and had fully developed 
wings which presumably rendered them incapable of copulation within the confines 
of the galleries of the logs. Furthermore, no instances are known of any termite 
species that copulate until they have flown, shed their wings, and constructed a 
nuptial cell. We consider it extremely unlikely that the females used in our 
experiments had been inseminated. 
