Alates production in times of scarcity: the strategies of \textit{Constrictotermes cyphergaster} (Silvestre, 1901) in a semiarid ecosystem in northeastern Brazil

<p>The foraging activities of the termite \textit{Constrictotermes cyphergaster} were investigated in the Caatinga of northeastern Brazil. Eight colonies were monitored during fifteen days during each trimester between January 2016 and June 2017 to evaluate the foraging (use-area, intensity, duration) and storage dynamics (weight / nutrition) of that species by examining their feeding behavior. The forage use-area was larger in the rainy season (F4, 57 = 3.231, P <0.05). The same trend was not observed in terms of the foraging intensity (F3,50 = 2.641, P = 0.06) and duration of foraging activity (F4,66 = 1.543, p = 0.2), which was not found to be significantly different during the different sampling periods. Workers and soldiers showed significantly higher protein and lipid contents during the rainy season (10.65 ± 4.38 µg/µL and 87.3 ± 48.81 µg/µL respectively), with body biomass increases of 0.057 ± 0.043 µg. Carbohydrates (OP 149.72 ± 49.71 µg/µL, SOL 77.56 ± 26.45 µg/µL) and total sugars (OP 25.73 ± 5.75 µg / µL, SOL 21.5 ± 5.58 µg/µL) showed significant higher contents in the dry season. The increased use-area, allied to higher soldier and worker body nutrient contents (especially lipids and proteins) and biomasses during the rainy season reflect the strategy of that specie to store energy reserves during the rainy season to be invested in periods of drought when there are increased energy demands in the colonies to produce the fifth nymphal stage.