The synchronized dispersal of colonies is an important strategy among social insects in terms of both successful mating and the avoidance of inbreeding. Although several studies have focused on these processes in the most common termite species characterized by pulsed dispersal, only a few studies have reported on termite species characterized by continuous dispersal. Here, we describe the phenology and biological characters of the dispersal flight of Neotermes sugioi, a dry-wood termite native to the Ryukyus Islands of Japan, using five colonies isolated under semi-field conditions over a period of 183 days. We obtained evidence for the synchronicity of alate emergence among colonies of N. sugioi based on observations of synchronous patterns on the major flight and non-flight days, which showed positive correlations in alate emergence between all colony pairs. However, due to the occurrence of months with small correlation coefficients, and inconsistent alate emergence peaks among colonies on a single day, N. sugioi showed less synchronization than subterranean termites characterized by pulsed dispersal flights. Environmental conditions of temperatures and humidities greater than 22 °C and 70% were found to be necessary for high flight activity during both high and low flight seasons. In all colonies, the sex ratio of emerging alates during the observation period was significantly biased toward males. Given that adjustment of synchronous and asynchronous alate release among neighboring colonies could reduce the risk of sibling pair mating and inbreeding, the characteristic alate emergence in N. sugioi may indirectly minimize the potential for inbreeding.

中文翻译：

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琉球干木白蚁 Neotermes sugioi (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) 群体间有晚出现的同步和扩散策略

就成功交配和避免近亲繁殖而言，群体的同步散布是群居昆虫之间的重要策略。尽管一些研究集中在以脉冲传播为特征的最常见白蚁物种中的这些过程，但只有少数研究报告了以连续传播为特征的白蚁物种。在这里，我们描述了 Neotermes sugioi（一种原产于日本琉球群岛的干木白蚁）的分散飞行的物候学和生物学特征，使用在 183 天内在半田间条件下分离的五个菌落。我们根据对主要飞行日和非飞行日的同步模式的观察，获得了杉木猪笼草菌落同步出现的证据，这表明所有菌落对之间的晚出现呈正相关。然而，由于出现相关系数较小的月份，以及同一天菌落之间出现不一致的有翼出现峰值，N. sugioi 表现出的同步性低于以脉冲扩散飞行为特征的地下白蚁。发现温度和湿度大于 22 °C 和 70% 的环境条件对于高飞行季节和低飞行季节的高飞行活动都是必要的。在所有菌落中，观察期间新出现的侧翼的性别比例显着偏向雄性。鉴于调整相邻菌落之间同步和异步的有味释放可以降低兄弟对交配和近交的风险，N.