Field observations of intercolony aggression and territory changes inHeterotermes aureus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Intercolony aggression was observed for a southwestern desert subterranean termite, Heterotermes aureus(Snyder), in bait plots in a Sonoran Desert grassland in Arizona. Intermittent conflict took place at the sites of corrugatedpaper rolls on the boundary between two colonies. Rows of dead termites locked in combat were found within the corrugations, with additional dead termites usually in the soil beneath the roll. Dead soldiers constituted 64 to 100% of termites recovered from sites of intercolony conflict. Ongoing intercolony aggression is likely involved in the maintenance of discrete H. aureusterritories.