Nesting biology drives the stability of tandem movement coordination in mating termites

Animal mating behavior often consists of a sequence of stereotyped actions that precede acquiring a mate. The evolutionary change of the sequence is a source of diversity in mating behavior. In termites, winged adults (alates) fly from the original nests to find both a mating partner and a site for colony foundation. In most species, alates must shed their wings before obtaining a partner because wings hinder tandem running, a courtship behavior by which partners search for potential nesting sites together. Thus, a typical sequence of termite mating is giving up dispersal, obtaining a partner, and finding a nest site. However, here we describe a unique tandem running behavior of an Australian termite, Microcerotermes nervosus; they can perform tandem runs with wings and are more likely to shed their wings in the presence of a partner. Our results show that 67% of winged females with a partner shed their wings, and the average time to wing shed was 262 seconds (~4.5 minutes). Female alates in the absence of a partner did not shed their wings (0/29) within a 30-minute time period. Given that mound nests of M. nervosus are abundant and ubiquitous in the studied area, this species could be less choosy about the nest site but instead more focused on securing the mating partner. Our results imply that the sequence of mating behaviors in termites can be largely variable, reflecting their nesting habitats.