Does distance makes the heart grow fonder?
Marc L. Fisher, Virginia Tech, Department of Entomology, 216 A Price Hall, Blacksburg, VA and R.E. Gold, Texas A&M University, Department of Entomology, College Station, TX. The relationship between intercolony aggression levels in Reticulitermes flavipes and the geographic distance between colony pairings was investigated. Levels of aggression were highly variable at all distances examined. In addition, a histogram of the aggression data showed a strongly bimodal distribution with two large peaks at “completely aggressive” and “no aggression”. There was a significant difference in the level of aggression demonstrated between colonies found in close proximity to one another (0.1 7.9 km), and those found farther apart (8.0 60.1 km). Closer colonies were more likely to be passive toward one another.
