The food habits of four hypogeous Macrotermitinae species were studied using stable carbon isotope analysis in several biotopes of a humid savanna of West Africa (Lamto, Côte d'Ivoire). The proportion of woody and herbaceous material in the diet of the different species was determined by measuring the 13C natural abundance in the fungus comb. The diet varied with season and biotope, especially tree density. The results confirm the flexibility of the food habits of the fungus-growing termites as a consequence of their exosymbiosis with the fungus Termitomyces sp.

A survey for laccase, an enzyme involved in phenol oxidation, was carried out in 23 termite species from three different feeding guilds. In soil-feeding (6 species) and wood-feeding (7 species) termites, laccase activity was not detected. In contrast, all the fungus-growing termites (10 species) tested showed laccase activity. The symbiotic fungi (conidia) and fungus combs showed higher activity than the termites themselves in 6 species: Macrotermes bellicosiis, M. miilleri, Odontotermes sp., O. sp. aff. interveniens, Pseudacanthotermes spiniger and P. militaris. Fungus combs always had the highest laccase activity. The absence of laccase activity in soil-feeding and wood-feeding termites is discussed. The presence of laccase activity in both termites and Termitomyces constitutes novel information relevant to the degradation of phenols.