Expansive gallery systems of one-piece termites (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae).

Drywood termites (Family Kalotermitidae) have been termed "one-piece" termites to reflect the fact that they nest within their food source. We dissected a large number of hardwood shippingpallets infested by Cryptotermes brevis (Walker), and mapped the distribution of individual termite colonies (i.e., interconnected gallery systems) within individual boards, and within the pallet as a whole. The number of distinct colonies within a single pallet ranged from one to eight. Although some colonies occupied a single board, we also found multiple colonies within single boards, and single colonies tunneling through the junctions between boards and occupying virtually the entire shippingpallet. Although designation of drywood termites as one-piece type termites is a useful ecological distinction, these cryptic insects may have extensive gallery systems encompassing multiple adjacent food sources.