Unique Morphogenesis in the Damp-Wood Termite: Abscission of the Stylus during Female Reproductive Caste Differentiation

Eusocial insects organize their colonies based on division of labor and caste differentiation, in which caste-specific morphologies are sculpted during postembryonic development. In the differentiation between reproductive and sterile castes, characteristics related to mating and reproduction are developed in reproductives, and degenerated in neuters, although little is known about the developmental regulations during the differentiation. In...