Flight schedules of winged termites (Insecta: Isoptera) in Doon Valley, Uttar Pradesh

8 Pages·1991·4.8 MB·

by  M L Thakur

FLIGHT SCHEDULES OF WINGED TERMITES (INSECTA: ISOPTERA)
IN DOON VALLEY, UTTAR PRADESH1
M.L. Thakur2
(With two text-figures)
Thephenomenon of swamiing in termitesis an annualfeature butprecise information on theirflight schedules
and circumstances associated with thephenomenon is generally lacking forthe great majority ofIndian species. Sig-
nificant contributions on this aspect havebeen madebyMathurand Sen-Sarma (1959, 1960, 1962), Sen-Sarma et at.
(1975), Thakur(1978, 1985), Thakurand Sen-Sarma (1981) and Roonwal (1976, 1983).
Introduction
speciesinnorthern Indiaandhasbeenrecordedfrom
dead branches of trees of several species. Emer-
I have been actively engaged in termite re- genceofalates in Doon Valley occurs latein theeve-
search for well over a quarter ofa century and have ning after sunset from the last week of January
been collecting information on the swarming be- (26th) to the first week of July (4th), but major
haviour and the associated problems in the Doon swarmings take place during early April to early
Valley, UttarPradesh. This paper summarises the in- June. Emergence is intermittentand in small batches
formation on this important aspect of behavioural (Roonwal and Sen-Sarma 1955, Mathur and Sen-
ecology of termites collected over the years, for 21 Sarma 1959, Sen-Sarmaetal. 1975). Ineastern India
species. Information available in literature has also (Kalimpong, North Bengal), alates of this species
been incorporated. have been collected during November-December.
2. Neotermes megaocculatus megaocculatus
Swarming Characteristics
Roonwal and Sen-Sarma has been recorded from
The Doon Valley which comprises the whole dead branches ofMangifera indica in Doon Valley.
of Dehradun district, is an open valley and lies be- No emergence record is available in Doon Valley;
tween 29° 39’ and 30° 31’ N and 77° 34’ and 78° however, in the Kumaon hills, it has been recorded
20’E. The valley is somewhat like a parallelogram in the last week of May.
in sha1.pe and is about 80 km in length, with an
Family Rhinotermitidae
average width of about 7 km, widening in the east-
ern dun region. The valley is bounded by the outer 3. Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann) is a
ranges of the Himalaya on the north, by the Siwalik major wood destroying termite in northern India
m
hills on the south and by the rivers Ganga and (above 20° N, going up to 2500 in the Himalayan
Yamuna on the eastern and western boundaries. The region). It has also been recorded from many
terrain is uneven. The climate is sub-tropical and localities in Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan. The
humid during the greater part of the year, except species swarms from the first week of July to the
during thedry hotmonths ofMay andJune. Average third week ofAugust. In Doon Valley, the swarming
annual rainfall is about2000mm. Thesoil in general has been recorded at night between 2100-2400 hrs
is ‘dun alluvium’, and is generally clayey, tending in mid July on rainy days, particularly when the rain
tobeloam,exceptin thehilly and sub-montanetract, has continued for an hour or so (Sen-Sarma et al.
and supports rich and luxurious vegetation, with 1975). However at Jodhpur, Roonwal (1976) has
large tracts of valuable sal forests and many other reported its swarming between 2000-2030 hrs in
timber species and bamboos. July-August. Observations recorded in Doon Valley
and in most of the other localities in India indicate
Family Kalotermitidae
that this species swarms only during the night.
Neotermes bosei Snyder is a common However in Bombay, Assmuth (1913) recorded the
swarming ‘in the morning’ at 0800 hrs or a little
Accepted October 1987
later, during the first showers of the monsoon. In
Forest Entomology Branch, Forest Research Institute and
Colleges, Dehra Dun. Punjab, Arora and Gilotra (1960) recorded the
56 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88
swarming during mid August, when it was actually during the greaterpartofthe year from the lastweek
raining. of February to the middle of December. In Doon
4. Coptotermes heimi (Wasmann) is one ofthe Valley, this species has two flightperiods,i.e. winter
most widely distributed and major wood-destroying flight season from second half of February to early
termite species in India, occurring throughout India March and summer flight season in June, usually in
and Pakistan. It has also been introduced into other the second half of the month. During the summer
countries of southeast Asia. This species usually flightseason, itusually swarms at 1630 hrsonbright
swarmsatduskandin theearlypartofthenightfrom sunny days preceded by heavy shower ofrain (Sen-
January to August after heavy rain showers (Thakur Sarma 1962). Occasionally, its swarms have also
1985). In the Doon Valley its swarming occurs in been recorded in the morning (0700-0830 hrs) on
JuneandJuly afterheavy showers (Mathur and Sen- cloudy days or even during light drizzle (Thakur
Sarma 1959). In Rajasthan (Jodhpur), this species 1978, 1985). During winter flight season, winged
has been reported to swarm even late at night after alates have been collected at light. Elsewhere, at
2100 hrs and occasionally when it is drizzling Coimbatore, the swarms of this species have been
(Roonwal 1976, 1983). At Coimbatore, Thakur recorded at dusk to early in the night (1830-1930
(1985) has recorded the swarms ofthis species from hrs) in the second half of October, invariably 6-12
the third week (1830-1930 hrs) ofJanuary to the last hours after rain (Thakur 1985). These records of
week ofFebruary, when the weather is quite dry. He flight schedules show that there is no rigid time
has also reported synchronized flight schedules ex- schedule for swarming in this species. It may swarm
actly on the same date (5 and 23 February 1980 and in the early morning (0700-0830 hrs), late in the
1983) and at the same time (1845 hrs) from two dif- afternoon at 1630 hrs or at dusk (1830-1930 hrs).
km
ferent colonies situated c. 18 apart. 7. Odontotermes bhagwatii Chatterjee and
Specific records of swarming in this species Thakur. This species occurs in Himachal Pradesh,
are available in literature within its entire range of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (Doon
distribution. Depending upon the local meteorologi- Valley) and Karnataka. In Doon Valley, this species
cal conditions in a locality, this species seems to swarms at dusk (1830-1900 hrs) during June-
swarm, in south India (Coimbatore, approx. 11 ° N.) August, from small holes in the ground after heavy
from 3rd week of January to the last week of rains. Specific dates of swarmings as available in
February vide supra), in the warmer and more literature are: 4 August 1912, 19 July 1918, 29 July
(
humid parts of Bombay, Orissa and West Bengal 1940, 6 July 1973 and 11 June 1984.
(approx. 19-22° N.) from March to May and in the 8. Odontotermes dehraduni Snyder has been
drier parts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar recorded from North India (Dehra Dun, Delhi,
Pradesh (26°5’N) on dry days during summer Jodhpur) and Pakistan. This species is known from
months from May (2nd hall) to August. Swarming imago caste only. Swarming is reported to occur in
occurs intermittently in small batches. the evening (1830-2030 hrs) from the last week of
June to the end of September, from small holes in
Family Stylotermitidae
the grounds after a heavy shower. The alates are at-
5. StylotermesdunensisThakurisarare wood- tracted towards light in large numbers. In Doon Val-
inhabiting termiteknown only from Dehradun in the ley, it swarms during the last week ofJune almost to
Doon Valley. This species has been collected from the end ofJuly.
avenue trees such as Acer oblongum, Mangifera in- 9. Odontotermes distans Holmgren and
dica etc. Swarming in nature has notbeen observed. Holmgren. This species is very widely distributed
,
However, winged alates have been collected from throughout India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and
infested logs during the second half of July in the Burma. In India, this species is more common in
laboratory. northern and eastern India, inhabiting submontane
areas in the Himalayan ranges, reaching up to 2100
Family Macrotermtiidae
m.
6. Odontotermes assmuthi Holmgren is very It swarms during the greater part of the year,
widely distributed almost all over India and swarms from the middle ofFebruary to first week ofDecern-
FLIGHT SCHEDULES OF WINGED TERMITES 57
ber. In the Doon Valley, like O. assmuthi this Pradesh), June-July (Doon Valley), Bhopal (Mad-
,
species has two flight seasons. It swarms primarily hya Pradesh), July-August (Jodhpur, Rajasthan),
in the afternoon (1600-1630 hrs) to dusk in the last October (Cochin, Kerala) and last week of October
week of February to early April (winter flight to end ofNovember (Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu).
season) and again in the last week (25th) of July at 13. Microtermes obesi Holmgren. This
about 1930-2030 hrs (summer flight season). The species occurs widely in south and southeast Asia
swarming is usually preceded by rain (6-12 hours) (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Burma and
and is, at times, also followed by rain (3-6 hours). Thailand). Swarming occurs mostly from early July
Another interesting feature recorded by the author to early August in northern India, but alates have
is the synchronization of flight schedules on the been collected from the nest in April-May-June
same dates (26 February 1970 and 1973) in the New (Roonwal 1970, Roonwal and Verma 1977). In
Forest Estate (Dehra Dun). Elsewhere, its swarms Doon Valley (Dehra Dun), this species swarms late
have been recorded at dusk in February-March in the afternoon (1300-1530 hrs) during July. El-
(West Bengal, eastern India), August (Jodhpur, sewhere (Jodhpur, Rajasthan), it has been found to
‘Rajasthan) and from middle of October to the third swarm early in the day (1030-1330 hrs).
week of November (Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu). 14. Microtermes unicolar Snyder is found in
10. Odontotermes indicus Thakur is also very Pakistan, northwestern India and Bangladesh. It oc-
widely distributed throughout India, except eastern curs commonly in pouches in the outer region of
India. Swarming has been recorded in June and Sep- mounds of Odontotermes and under wood debris in
tember(Orissa). InDoon Valley, this speciesswarms forest areas. Swarming occurs in summer and rainy
duringmonsoonmonthsofJulyandAugust. Swarm- months from April to August. In Doon Valley,
ing is crepuscularor nocturnal, usually beginning at swarms have been recorded at night (1900-2100
dusk or a little later and continuing sometimes hrs) in the months ofJune, usually after rainfall.
throughoutthe night. At times, the swarming occurs
Family Termtiidae
even when itis drizzling. The alatescomeoutsimul-
taneously from holes at different places in the 15. Speculitermes cyclops Wasmann is wide-
ground. ly distributed in India, from eastern Rajasthan, Uttar
11. Odontotermes microdentatus Roonwal and Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh (up to 1050 m altitude,
Sen-Sarma. This species is a mound building ter- Pachmarhi), Maharashtra and some parts of Kar-
mite, occurring in the greater part ofIndia, building nataka (Coorg). The species occurs in well wooded
low dome shaped conical or cylindrical mounds, orsemi-open humid forestvegetation, wherethe soil
sometimes withlargeverticalbuttresses(Sen-Sarma retains higher percentage of moisture and compara-
et al. 1975). In Doon Valley, this species swarms at tively moderate temperature. Precise swarming
night (2300 hrs) during the second halfofJune (Ag- records are lacking in literature; however, the alates
garwal 1975). havebeen collected from thenest, from the lastweek
12. Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) is a very of May to third week ofJune at Dehradun. In Bom-
widely distributed species in south-eastAsia, occur- bay, Assmuth (1913) is reported to have collected
m
ring throughout India, up to 2000 in the Himalaya imago caste on 12 May.
(except very cold regions), Pakistan, Bangladesh 16. Euhamitermes lighti Snyder is known
and Burma. This species swarms from May to end only from Doon Valley. It belongs to a group ofsub-
of November. In Doon Valley, the swarming takes terranean humus feeding termites, found only a few
place during June and July. The swarming begins centimetres below well drained amorphous land.
with the onset of monsoon in June. It begins at dusk Actual swarming records are lacking in literature,
oratnight(1830-2200hrs) and continues sometimes but fully matured alates have been encountered in
throughout the night usually after heavy showers. the field from 2nd week of May to end of June. It
Flights also occur when rain is actually falling. may, therefore, be surmised that this species swarms
Someactualrecordsofswarming schedulesas avail- some time during therainy months ofJune andJuly.
able in literature within India are as follows: May 17.EremotermesdehraduniRoonwaland Sen-
(1st week) at Almora (Kumaon Hills, Uttar Sarma. This species is also known only from the
58 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL H/ST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88
\
N.d.-t 12
M-u.- '1 wmmm '
i
i
M.a*
Oo. 1
K
1 1 1 m l
0 1
m.- c:j
O. i.*
O.d-
O.d-
O.bf
cn
0. a..
A.d-
M. b-
D. a.
L'J
E.d*
El.
i
S.c,
S.d- cr:
C.h.
H.i.
Nmm.
N. b.*
—r —r T" —r “T"
M
A M A 0 N D F
i 1
i
i
i
L.
SUMMER FLIGHT SCHEDULE WINTER FUGHT SCHEDULE
Fig. 1. Swarming schedules oftermites in Doon Valley. Hollow bars: show swarming periods ofspecies atotherlocalities withinthe
entire range oftheirdistribution. Solid bars: show swarming periods in Doon Valley.
N.b. Neotermes bosei\ N.m.m. Neotermes megaoculalus megaoculalus\ H.i. Heterotermes indicola\ C.h. Coptotermes heimi\ S.d.
Slylotermes dy.nensis\ S.C. SpeculUerm.es cyclops\ H.I. Euhamilermes lighti; E.d. Eremotermes dehraduni; D.c. Doonitermes capil-
losus\M.b.Microcerolermesbeesoni; A.d.Angulitermesdehraensis\ O.a. Odontolermesassmuthi; O.b. Odontotermesbhagwatii\ 0.i.
Odontotermes indicus\ O.m. Odontotermes microdenlatus\ O.o. Odontolermes obesus M.o. Microtermes obesi\ M.u. Microtermes
;
unicolor, N.d.Nasutitermes dunensis.
FLIGHT SCHEDULES OF WINGED TERMITES 59
LEGEND
18.
DAY NIGHT
Fig. 2. Swarming hours oftermites in Doon Valley
Doon Valley. It has been collected from wetareas in therefore be presumed that this species swarms
the valley. The swarming in this species occurs in some time during the month ofJuly.
the first half of June during bright sunshine from 19. Microcerotermes beesoni Snyder. This
1000 to 1400 hrs from small holes in the ground, species occurs in northern Indiain partly buried car-
usually after a shower of rain. ton nests. In Doon Valley, it swarms in the second
Doonitermes capillosus Chatterjee and halfof May. However, from other localities outside
Thakur. This species lives in medium sized com- the valley, the swarming records of this species
munities in the sal forests in the Doon Valley and, range from the last week ofJune to middle ofJuly.
like its closely allied genus Speculitermes, is repre- 20. Angulitermes dehraensis (Gardner). This
sented by a very small percentage of soldier caste. species is very common in Doon Valley and is also
Actual records of its swarming are not available in known from some localities in Pakistan (Layallpur
the literature, but fully mature adults have been col- and Sekesar). Itoccurs under stones, cowdung, outer
lected from the field in the last week ofJune. It may region ofmounds ofgenus Odontotermes as well as
60 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88
Table
1
FLIGHT SCHEDULES (WITH PERIOD) OFTERMITES IN DOON VALLEY
Summer flight Winterflight Common flight Elsewhere
schedule period schedule period schedule
April-Sept. Oct.-March period
Heteroterm.es Nil Neolermes Neotermes
indicola (July-Aug.) bosei (Feb.-Apr. megaoculalus
&
July) megaoculatus
(May-last week)
Coplolermes heimi Odontotermes Odontotermes
(June-July) assmulhi bhagwatii
&
(Feb.-Mar. June) (July-Aug.)
Slylolermes dunensis 0. distans
(July, 2nd half) (Feb.-April &July)
Speculitermes cyclops
(May last week to June
3rd week.)
Euharnitermes lighti
(June 3rd week toJuly last week)
Eremotermes dehraduni
(June, 2nd half)
Microcerotermes beesoni
(May last week)
Doonilermes capillosus
(July)
Angulitermes dehraensis
(June)
Odontotermes bhagwatii
(June-Aug.)
0. dehraduni (June-July)
0. indicus (July-Aug.)
0. microdentatus
1
(June, 2nd half)
0. obesus (June-July)
Microlermes obesi (July)
M. unicolar (June)
Nasutitermes dunensis
(June-July)
under compact soil of road sides and agricultural the following months of June and July, probably
fields near forested areas. It swarms sometimes after showers.
during the 2nd halfofJune, when the mature sexual
Discussion
form is seen in small numbers (Mathur and Scn-
Sarma 1959). However, precise hours of actual The Doon Valley has a subtropical climate
flights are not known. where temperature plays a significant role in sharp-
21. Nasutilermes dunensis Chatterjee and ly dividing the seasons, and influencing to a great
Thakur. It occurs in the forest areas of Doon Valley. Extent, the flight pattern in termites. Accordingly,
Actual records of swarming are not known. Doon Valley has two flight seasons, more or less
However, as fully mature alates have been collected linked to meteorological rhythms of rainy months,
in the field in the last week of May, it may be i.e. (i) Winterflightschedule, from Octoberto March
presumed that this species swarms some time during (sometimes extended toearly April) and (ii) Summer
FLIGHT SCHEDULES OF WINGED TERMITES 61
flight schedule from April to September. This is in evening at sunset, the second swarm occurred on 26
,
contrastto flightrhythms oftermites atCoimbatore, February 1973 in the afternoon at 1630 hrs.
south India, where there is only one flight schedule From the information available in literature, it
(generally from second half of September to end of appears that flight schedules in some species are
March), coinciding generally with northeast mon- closely linked to latitudinal and regional elevadon
soon. Most of the species (17) have only summer differences over their entire range of distribution
flight schedules from April to September, mostly (Nutting 1969, Thakur 1985). For example, Cop-
during the monsoon months (June to August), none totermes heimi has been reported to swarm from
have solely winter flight and Neotermes bosei March to May in the warmer and more humid areas
Snyder (February-April and July), Odontotermes ofBombay,OrissaandWestBengal (approx. 19-22°
assmuthi Holmgren (February-March andJune) and N.), during monsoon months, from June to August,
Odontotermes distans Holmgren and Holmgren in the drier parts ofHaryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and
(February-April and July) have both summer and Uttar Pradesh (approx. 26° 5’-31° N) and further
winter flight schedules (Table 1). down at Coimbatore, South India (approx. 11° N)
Similarly precise hours of flight schedules in from January to February. Similarly Odontotermes
13 species, for which the data is available (Fig. 2), obesus swarms during the early part of hot summer
shows that nine species swarm generally late in the from late April (28th) to May in the western
day to early in the night, two species, Eremotermes temperate climate of Himalaya (Himachal Pradesh
dehraduni Roonwal and Sen-Sarma and Microter- and Western Himalaya of Garhwal, Kumaon Hills
mes obesi Holmgren swarm early in the day to early and Doon Valley in Uttar Pradesh), from June to
afternoon (1000 to 1530 hrs), two species, August in the Gangetic plains in Uttar Pradesh and
Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann) and Odontoter- from October to November at Coimbatore (South
mes microdentatus Roonwal and Sen-Sarma swarm India).
at night (2100-2400 hrs and 2300 hrs respectively). All these establish a positive correlation be-
In the case ofOdontotermes indicusand Odontoter- tween the swarming and rainfall, but what exactly
mes obesus the swarming sometimes continues till triggers swarming, is acomplex problem and isonly
,
late in the night (upto 2300 hrs) or even throughout speculative atpresent. Manyphysicalchanges in the
the night. weather conditions in a locality, such as air pressure
The time schedules ofswarming in termites at and humidity, moisture content in the soil and other
any one locality are, by and large, precise, and are climatic conditions, are invariably associated with
repeated year after year (Nutting 1969, Thakur and the phenomenon of swarming. Any single factor or
Sen-Sarma 1981 and Thakur 1985), but sometimes combination offactors influences the microclimatic
there is a departure from the normal schedules and condition in the nest, which, together with the vibra-
a species may behave differently. For example, tion produced by the rain drops, perhaps act as
Odontotermes assmuthi Holmgren usually swarms stimuli for swarming. Changing conditions rather
at 1630 hrs during bright sunshine, but occasional- than any fixed set of absolute values provide the
ly, it may also swarm in the morning (0700-0830 majorclimatic stimulusforflightschedules (Nutting
hrs) and even when it is cloudy or drizzling. 1969, Thakur 1985). Since observations on the
However, such exceptions are few andrare. Similar- swarming of termites in nature are chance records,
ly, some species (e.g. Odontotermes distans) exhibit it is not surprising that information on the precise
striking time fixity. On two occasions, this species hours of flight have so far been collected in case of
was found to swarm from two different colonies 12 species only. More information is required on the
situated nearly 3 km apart on 26 February 1970 and swarming behaviour of more termites, particularly
26 February 1973 in Dehradun. However, the hours in the case ofthose species where it is lacking, from
of flight schedule were not synchronized, whereas different climatic conditions at various latitudinal
the first swarm on 26 February 1970 occurred in the localities.
References
Aggarwal, V.B. (1975): Studies on the biology and ecology of mound building termites, Odontotermes microdentatus
5
62 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. 88
&
Roonwal Sen-Sarma and Odontotermes obesus (Ram- Ecosystem; 9-13. Eds. P.K. Sen-Sarma, S.K. Kulshrestha
bur) (Insecta: Isoptera: Termitidae). Ph.D. Thesis, Meerut and S.K. Sangal. Jugal Kishore and Co., Dehra Dun.
&
University, vii + 1- 122 pp. Roonwal, M.L. Sen-Sarma, P.K. (1955): Biology and ecol-
Arora,G.L. &Gilotra,S.K. (1960):ThebiologyofOdontoter- ogy of Oriental termites (Isoptera) 3. Some observations
mes obesus. Punjab Univ. Res. Bull. 10 (3-4): 247-255. onNeotermes gardneri (Snyder) (family Kalotermitidae).
Assmuth,J. (1913): Wood-destroying white ants ofthe Bombay J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 53(2): 234-239.
Presidency.J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 22 (2): 372-384. Roonwal, M.L., Sen-Sarma, P.K. & Verma, S.C. (1977):
&
Mathur, R.N. Sen-Sarma, P.K. (1959): Notes on the habits Resurvey oftermite fauna of Rajasthan and its Zoogeog-
and biology of Dehra Dun termites. Part I. J. Timber raphy. Rec. Zool. Surv. 72: 125-480.
Dryer'sPreserv. Assoc. India, Dehra Dun, 5(3): 33-39. Sen-Sarma, P.K. (1962): Some observations on swarming inna-
&
Mathur, R.N. Sen-Sarma, P.K. (1960): Notes on the habits ture and colonyfoundation underlaboratory conditions in
and biology of Dehra Dun termites. Part-II. J. Timber Odontotermes assmuthi (Holmgren) at Dehra Dun. Beilr.
Dryer'sPreserv. Assoc. India Dehra Dun, 6(2): 23-27. Zur. Entomon., 12: 192-297.
,
&
Mathur, R.N. Sen-Sarma, P.K. (1962): Notes on the habits Sen-Sarma, P.K., Thakur, M.L., Mishra, S.C. 8c Gupta, B.K.
and biology of Dehra Dun termites. Part-Ill.-J. Timber (1975): Studies on wooddestroying termites in relation to
Dryer's Preserv. Assoc. India, Dehra Dun, 8(1): 1-18. natural termites resistance of wood. Final Tech. P.L. 480
Nutting,W.F. (1969): Flightand colonyfoundation. In: Biology Project A-7-58 (1968-73) Dehradun. pp. viii + 1-187.
of Termites, Vol. 2: 233-282 (Eds. K. Krishna and F.M. Thakur, M.L. (1978): New observations on the swarming be-
Weesner). Academic Press, New York. haviour in nature in Odontotermes assmuthi Holmgren
Roonwal, M.L. (1970): Termites of the Oriental Region - In: (Isoptera: Termitidae: Macrotermitinae). Indian Forester,
BiologyofTermites, Vol. 2: 315-391 (Eds. K. Krishna and 104(9): 638.
F.M. Weesner). Academic Press, New York. Thakur,M.L. (1985): Observations on swarminginnatureofter-
Roonwal, M.L. (1976): Field ecology and ecobiogcography of mites (Insecta: Isoptera) at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
Rajasthan termites: A study in desert environment. Zoo/. Annls. Ent., Dehradun, 3(2): 25-32.
&
Johrb. Abt. (Syst.) 103: 455-504. Thakur, M.L. Sen-Sarma, P.K. (1981): Flight and colony
Roonwal,M.L. (1983): Theecology oftermites swarming in the foundation in termites with special reference to Indian
Indian Desert. In: InsectInterrelations in Forest and Agro region. Van Vigyan, 19 (1): 39-43.