Intracolonial demography of the mound-building termite Macrotermes natalensis (Haviland) (Isoptera, Termitidae) in the northern Kruger National Park, South Africa

This paper reports on the number of individuals in Macrotermes natalensis (Hav.) colonies of different sized mounds in the northern Kruger National Park. Mounds were fully excavated, termites collected by means of vacuuming, and colony size estimated by sub-sampling. The proportion of termites in the mound (above and underground sections) amounts to more than 70 % of the colony; the rest being present in the surrounding soil (excavated beyond mound perimeter). It was estimated that, on average, small mounds contain more than 5000, medium mounds more than 45000, and large mounds more than 200000 individual termites. A highly significant relationship between total individuals (N) and mound height (h) was found, given by lnN = 7.893 + 1.093h (r = 0.92). Highly significant correlations (rs > 0.90) were found between and within caste numbers, and their respective ratios given. The proportion of soldiers was found to change as colonies grew larger.