author(s)
Olugbemi Bolarinwa Olugbenga

abstract
Agonistic behavior in the termites, Microcerotermes fuscotibialis Sjostedt and Microcerotermes edentatus Wasmann were studied. 10 individuals each from same and different species of these termites were paired and observed for mortality 24h after, using different arena sizes. Workers of M. fuscotibialis exhibited agonistic behavior towards each other in pairings in smaller arena sizes, while agonism leading to equivocal mortality occurred in the larger arena sizes. However, workers of M. edentatus showed no aggression towards one another in all the arena sizes. Pairing workers of M. fuscotibialis with workers of M. edentatus resulted in significant aggressive behavior leading to high mortality of the individuals in the smaller arena sizes. Equivocal mortality was observed in the larger arena size of 12.0cm. These two termite species therefore demonstrated contrasting aggressive behavior in inter-colony pairings. Foraging space delineated by distance may be an important factor that could reduce fatal encounters among termite species with agonistic tendencies within a given foraging area.