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Insect Ecology Lab
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The lab investigates the mechanisms and evolution of insect societies through termite queens and workers.
AboutAbout the lab
Decoding the “wonderland” of insect societies.
The Insect Ecology Lab studies the mechanisms and evolution of insect societies, using termites as its main study organism.
Societies of social insects such as ants, bees, and termites feature conflict and the mechanisms that resolve it, soldiers that defend the nest, agriculture, and hygiene management using antimicrobial substances.
Founded in 1923 as the first lab in Japan dedicated to the study of insect ecology, the lab values research in which students observe with their own eyes and form their own questions.
Undergraduates are assigned to the Advanced Bioscience Course in their third year, and to this lab within the course in their fourth year (graduate students belong to the Division of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of Agriculture).
Key terms
- parthenogenesis
- Reproduction in which a female produces offspring without mating with a male
- social insects
- Insects such as ants, bees, and termites that live in groups, with roles divided among queens, workers, and others
- micropyle
- A small pore on the surface of an insect egg that allows sperm to enter
ResearchResearch themes
There are more than one million insect species, and among them social insects such as ants, bees, and termites are the most successful. Using termites as its main study organism, the lab studies how insect societies work and how they have evolved.
*Illustrative imageQueens Succeed Themselves Through Their Own Copies
Analyzing the genes of kings and queens collected in the field, the lab showed that queens of the Japanese subterranean termite (Reticulitermes speratus) produce successor queens by parthenogenesis, and workers and alates by sexual reproduction.
*Illustrative imageQueens Sort Their Eggs by the Micropyle
Examining 6,000 eggs, the lab found that eggs without a micropyle develop by parthenogenesis, and eggs with one develop by sexual reproduction. As queens aged, they laid more eggs without a micropyle, producing their successors.
*Illustrative imageKin Selection Confirmed in Termites
The lab showed that in termite species that reproduce by parthenogenesis, the sex ratio of alates is biased toward females, while in species that do not, it is not. This is strong evidence that kin selection works even in organisms in which both males and females are diploid.
*Illustrative imageEvolution of Insect Social Systems
Associate Professor Takata works to elucidate insect social systems and how they have evolved.
MembersFaculty
The Insect Ecology Lab consists of faculty members, lab office staff, project researchers, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.
- ProfessorKenji Matsuura
- Associate ProfessorMamoru Takata
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “CSIRO ScienceImage 2289 A mature queen termite edit2” Forestry and Forest Products, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Queens Succeed Themselves Through Their Own Copies: “Reticulitermes speratus Colony01” Keisotyo / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Queens Sort Their Eggs by the Micropyle: “CSIRO ScienceImage 1201 Termite Eggs and the Queen” division, CSIRO / CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
- Kin Selection Confirmed in Termites: “Winged Termite (= Alate) (Macrotermes mossambicus ?) ( )” Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Evolution of Insect Social Systems: “Termitarium Nest” Ibrahim Achiri / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (昆虫生理学分野): “Bombyx mori - Naturhistorisches Museum, Braunschweig, Germany - DSC04999” Daderot / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (生態情報開発学分
野): “Colony of Red spider mites (Tetranychus urticae)” Aleksey Gnilenkov from Moscow, Russia / CC BY 2.0 (cropped) - Related lab (里海生態保全学分野): “Maizuru bay” Sea of Japan / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (海洋生物環境学分野): “Dugong Marsa Alam” Julien Willem / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
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