Abundance and Distribution of the Three Species of Symbiotic Protozoa in the Hindgut of Coptotermes formosanus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Abstract

Workers, soldiers, nymphs and alates of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, all harbored the same 3 species of protozoa. Workers, nymphs, and alates had a larger number of protozoa than the soldiers. The relative abundance of the protozoa differed in the different castes. In the worker, Holomastigotoides hartmanni Koidzumi was the predominant species in numbers, followed by Pseudotrichonympha grassii Koidzumi and Spirotrichonympha leidyi Koidzumi while in the alate. S. leidyi was predominant. Each protozoan species apparently occupied a more or less specific location in the worker's hindgut. P. grassii was predominant in the first pouch, H. hartmanni in the second, and H. hartmanni and S. leidyi in the third pouch and excreta. This may indicate a difference in digestive roles of the protozoa and/or a difference in the oxygen requirements of the 3 species. There were no significant differences in the total number of protozoa found in the workers from 3 different colonies.