Subterranean termites construct complicated tunnel network for foraging below the ground. Thus, they often encounter a number of tunnel intersections during their moving from place to place in the network. In order to understand how termites respond to the intersections, we artificially excavated two tunnels intersected with 90° degree in soil-filled arenas. The two tunnels had the width of W1 and W2 (=2, 3, and 4mm), respectively. We systematically observed the response behavior of advancing termites to the intersection with the combination of W1 and W2, (W1, W2). For (W1, W2)=(2, 2) and (3, 3), the advancing termites passed the intersection without directional changes because it was difficult for termites to bend their body to change their moving direction due to the small-sized width. For (W1, W2)=(4, 4), the termites statistically-equally chose the three directions, left, right, and straight, which was due to the fact that the intersection provided enough space for termites to bend. For (W1, W2)=(2, 3), (2, 4), and (3, 4), termites, advancing in narrower tunnels, tended considerably to turn right or left, while termites, advancing in wider tunnels, were favorably inclined to go straight. These results can be understood by considering the relationship between termite body length and tunnel width as explained for the cases of W1=W2. In addition, we briefly discussed our findings in relation to termite foraging efficiency.

Subterranean termites construct underground tunnels, tens to hundreds of meters in length, in order to search for and transport resources. Diverse soil conditions surrounding the tunnels, such as soil pores and differing moisture concentrations, may cause different sized- and shaped-irregularities in the tunnels. To understand how individual termites respond to the irregularities, the present study monitored the movement of termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, in artificially excavated tunnels with rectangular irregularities of varying sizes in twodimensional sand substrates. Termites tunneled at some of the irregularities and not at the others. The tunneling or non-tunneling behavior resulted from four different responses. The non-tunneling response may result from a behavioral adaptation that allows termites to avoid wasting energy that may be used in foraging.