In eusocial insects (e.g., ants, bees, and termites), the roles of different castes are assigned to different individuals. These castes possess unique phenotypes that are specialized for specific tasks. The acquisition of sterile individuals with specific roles is considered a requirement for social evolution. In termites, the soldier is a sterile caste. In primitive taxa (family Archotermopsidae and Stolotermitidae), however, secondary reproductives (neotenic reproductives) with their mandibles developed into weapons (so-called reproductive soldiers, also termed as soldier-headed reproductives or soldier neotenics) have been reported. To understand the developmental mechanism of this unique caste, it is necessary to understand the environmental cues and developmental processes of reproductive soldiers under natural conditions. Here, we established efficient conditions to induce reproductive soldiers in Zootermopsis nevadensis. Male reproductive soldiers frequently developed after the removal of both the king and soldiers from an incipient colony. Similarly, high differentiation rates of male reproductive soldiers were observed after king-and-soldier separation treatment using wire mesh. However, no male reproductive soldiers were produced without direct interaction with the queen. These results suggest that male reproductive soldier development is repressed by direct physical interactions with both the king and soldiers and facilitated by direct physical interaction with the queen.

中文翻译：

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士兵白蚁的繁殖发育是由与繁殖白蚁和士兵白蚁的直接物理相互作用控制的


在社会性昆虫（例如蚂蚁、蜜蜂和白蚁）中，不同种姓的角色被分配给不同的个体。这些种姓拥有专门从事特定任务的独特表型。获得具有特定角色的不育个体被认为是社会进化的要求。在白蚁中，士兵是不育的种姓。然而，在原始类群（Archotermopsidae和Stolotermitidae）中，已经报道了其下颌发育成武器的二次生殖（幼态生殖）（所谓的生殖士兵，也称为士兵头生殖或士兵幼态）。要了解这一独特种姓的发育机制，就必须了解自然条件下生殖兵的环境线索和发育过程。在这里，我们建立了诱导内华达白蚁生殖兵的有效条件。在将国王和士兵从早期殖民地中驱逐出去后，男性生殖士兵经常会出现。同样，使用金属丝网进行国王和士兵分离处理后，观察到男性生殖士兵的高分化率。然而，如果没有与蜂王直接互动，就不会产生雄性生殖士兵。这些结果表明，与国王和士兵的直接身体互动会抑制男性生殖士兵的发育，而与王后的直接身体互动则会促进男性生殖士兵的发育。