Comparative Nesting Habits and Colony Composition of Three Arboreal Termites (Isoptera: Termitidae) in Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies

In a survey of arboreal termites in different habitats in Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies, three species predominated: Microcerotermes arboreus, Nasutitermes corniger and N. ephratae. M. arboreus accounted for most colonies in a pine plantation, while N. corniger predominated in farmland and mangrove. The two species had roughly equal proportions, overall, at several broadleafforest sites. A fourth species, either Termes hispaniolae or T. fatalis, appeared only in broadleaf forest. Each of the three common species shows wide variance in nest height within habitats. The overall pattern is consistent with much greater withinspecies variation among habitats than among species in the same habitat. In no habitat is there a clear height differentiation among species. Analysis of colonies shows the expected similarity in the two species of nasute-termites. Both showed a mean soldier fraction of 17% among adults, while in M. arboreus only 3% of adults were soldiers. Features of nest structure may be related to this difference.