The use of tympanic arenas to improve accuracy in vibroacoustic bioassays using termites (Blattodea: Isoptera)

Termites communicate, make foraging decisions and detect enemies via substrate-borne vibrations.  The adaptive significance of such an ability has led to an ever increasing number of studies aimed at improving knowledge on vibroacoustic communication in these insects. Such studies are commonly carried out in laboratory arenas consisting of Petri dishes made of plastic or glass. However, the rigidness of such materials may limit the transmission of vibrational waves impairing accurate records of the feeble vibrations produced by termites. It follows that arenas bearing a flexible floor (hence simulating a drum or a tympanum) would stand as a suitable alternative to minimize interferences on such vibrations, thereby producing cleaner and finely detailed datasets. Here we test such a hypothesis, using an accelerometer to measure and record vibrations whose intensity was tailored to mimic the feeble vibrations of a small termite species, \textit{Constrictormes cyphergaster}. Results support the notion that tympanic arenas portray such vibrations more authentically than arenas made of plastic or glass. We hence recommend this type of arena to be used in studies of vibroacoustic behaviors of termites and other insects of comparable size. Funding: CNPq.