STICKY-BUSINESS: A UNIQUE CHEMICAL DEFENCE STRATEGY IN NASUTE TERMITES.

Predation is a strong selective force driving the evolution of complex antipredator traits. Antipredator defences in the form of morphological or chemical weaponry, or behavioural traits, increases a prey organism's chance of survival when faced with a predator. Termites are a group of social insects that possess an arsenal of mechanical and chemical weapons to thwart attacks from vertebrate and invertebrate predators. The soldier caste of termites have a range of mandibular modifications, including snapping, piercing and crushing mandibles. Some taxa, however, have undergone mandibular regression and are entirely reliant on chemical defence. The nasute termites are one such group that have lost their mandibles and instead have a specialised cephalic appendage in which they use to eject as viscous defensive secretion. The chemical and morphological aspects of some termite defences are well-studied, but often the behavioural components of complex antipredator traits are often neglected in current studies. Thus, improving our understanding of the underlying biological and behavioural mechanisms of termite defence systems will allow us to increase our current knowledge of the evolutionary history of a complex social insect taxon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]