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[Vol. 89 
connect the nests to the ground. Immediately following implanta- 
tion termites swarmed onto the ramps, soldiers in the lead followed 
by a mixture of soldiers and workers. Only four white immatures 
were seen leaving the nests throughout the experimental period. 
As they reached the ground groups fanned out: termites from a 
single colony divided into several ribbons heading in different direc- 
tions. Because of the close proximity of the ramp exits, it was inevi- 
table that encounters occur between trails from different colonies. 
The meetings were not passive. Soldiers oriented towards (and 
apparently squirted) termites from other colonies, but this did not 
seem much of a deterrent to recipients. The major defense stemmed 
not from the soldiers, but from the Nasutitermes workers. 
Workers from different colonies grabbed each other with their 
mandibles and locked in one-on-one conflict. Pairs of workers 
squirmed and bent with vigor, often until the death of both. Occa- 
sionally a third or fourth worker would join the engagement, but 
usually only temporarily. Workers avidly attacked soldiers as well, 
grabbing at the legs and occasionally biting the abdomen. 
The next morning worker carcasses littered the arena over an area 
of approximately 1,500cm 2 , with some battle “patches” as far as 
1.5 m from the center of the ramp triangle. The density of bodies was 
often quite high (25-50 dead in a 4.0cm 2 area). Surviving termites 
did not appear to cannibalize the dead. Ants, flies, staphylinid bee- 
tles, and wasps began scavenging the termite carcasses. 
How were foraging trail routes influenced by the intersection bat- 
tles? Agonistic confrontations were instigated when at least one 
colony was in the process of establishing or changing a foraging 
route, i.e. in a scouting phase. Preliminary observations (Fig. 2) 
suggest that both colonies’ foraging pathways were displaced by 
encounters — trails were repulsed from the meeting site following 
battles lasting 10-30 minutes. One colony may maintain a trail 
tangential to the “battle field”, but I did not see one continuing 
through an area of dead termites. 
It is difficult to determine the effect of agonistic encounters on 
final foraging path location. In isolation a colony establishes forag- 
ing routes by scouting in a broad network, but several hours later 
this highly branched fan collapses into a single actively travelled 
ribbon with few side trails. Thus the fact that termites have trav- 
ersed a given area in no way assures that route as the path of a final 
