Step-by-step Dissection Protocol of Apicotermitinae Worker (Blattaria: Isoptera)

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.8503

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social cockroaches

Abstract

Apicotermitinae are soldierless termites highly abundant in tropical forests. The taxonomy of this subfamily is based on characters of worker cast and winged forms when present. However, the procedures necessary to dissect termite workers to observe their external and internal morphological characteristics are not well detailed in any study. Here, we describe a step-by-step protocol for worker dissection of soldierless termite species. We suggest the use of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) for cleaning and visualization of the gizzard and enteric valve, and glycerin to remove tergites and sternites and describe in detail the dissection of the gizzard and enteric valve, and how visualize the insertion of Malpighian tubules.

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References

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Published

2023-10-09

How to Cite

Almeida-Azevedo, R., Alves-Oliveira, J., Morais, J. W., Franklin, E., & Azevedo, R. A. de. (2023). Step-by-step Dissection Protocol of Apicotermitinae Worker (Blattaria: Isoptera). Sociobiology, 70(4), e8503. https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v70i4.8503

Issue

Vol. 70 No. 4 (2023)

Section

Research Article - Termites

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Copyright (c) 2023 Rayssa Almeida-Azevedo, João Alves-Oliveira, José Wellington Morais, Elizabeth Franklin, Renato Almeida de Azevedo

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