Allelochemical resistance of bald cypress,Taxodium distichum, heartwood to the subterranean termite,Coptotermes formosanus

1988 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 765-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf H. Scheffrahn ◽  
Ruei-Ching Hsu ◽  
Nan-Yao Su ◽  
Jacob B. Huffman ◽  
Sharon L. Midland ◽  
...  
1987 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah A. Waller ◽  
Jeffery P. La Fage

AbstractIn previous laboratory studies, it was demonstrated that baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) diets eliminated a critical gut protozoan, Pseudotrichonympha grassii, from Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. The present authors surveyed field colonies of C. formosanus confined within baldcypress trees growing in a river in Louisiana and found P. grassii was present. Termites inhabiting baldcypress trees preferred pine (Pinus) and rejected baldcypress in choice tests in the field. Significantly more termites were recruited to baits when twice as much pine was offered, indicating that C. formosanus adjusted its foraging response to resource amount. In laboratory tests, sound baldcypress sapwood and heartwood depressed survival and gut protozoan counts in C. formosanus, but baldcypress infected with the basidiomycete fungus Rigidoporus sp. and an unidentified imperfect species was favourable for the termites and their symbionts. These results suggest an important role for microbial modification in termite host selection.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Lucas Carnohan ◽  
Sang-Bin Lee ◽  
Nan-Yao Su

Effective active ingredients in toxicant bait formulations must be non-deterrent to insect feeding behavior at lethal concentrations. This study evaluated feeding deterrence for Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, C. gestroi (Wasmann), and Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) when provided access to cellulose impregnated with various concentrations of the insect molting hormone, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E). Termites were exposed to 20E concentrations of 200, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm and to noviflumuron at 5000 ppm in a 24 h choice-test, and the mass of substrate consumption from treated and untreated media pads was compared for each treatment. 20E feeding deterrence was detected at 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm for C. gestroi, and at 2000 ppm for C. formosanus. No significant differences in consumption of treated and untreated substrate was detected at any concentration for R. flavipes. Potential methods for reducing deterrence are discussed.


2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 467-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.-Y. Su ◽  
P.N. Scherer

AbstractDuring the early stages of the development of termite baits, dyed paper was placed in specified feeding stations to ascertain whether a slow-acting toxicant could be placed in a few bait stations to be delivered to the entire colony members of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Feeding frequency data, as measured by the dye concentration in individual termites, suggested the absence of feeding site fidelity. However, these results were often misinterpreted as random movement of termites that were marked and released for population estimate studies, or the random search of food in soil by subterranean termites. A computer simulation program was constructed to re-examine this feeding frequency data, and confirmed the earlier conclusion that the lack of feeding site fidelity was the most likely explanation for the data.


Insects ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1190-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Tarver ◽  
Christopher Florane ◽  
Christopher Mattison ◽  
Beth Holloway ◽  
Alan Lax

Check List ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1537-1543
Author(s):  
Rudolf H. Scheffrahn ◽  
Brian W. Bahder ◽  
Tomer Lu

The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, 1909, is a highly destructive structural pest endemic to East Asia. We report a land-based establishment of C. formosanus in Petah Tikva, Israel, over 6000 km from its nearest previous locality in China. The species’ identity was confirmed by soldier morphology and by COI sequence data. In addition, a population discovered in 1992 in suburban San Diego, California, USA, remains viable. Marathon hosts the first infestation of C. formosanus in the Florida Keys. The world distribution of C. formosanus is presented, and the biogeography and mechanisms of spread of this termite are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg Henderson

Abstract C. formosanus is often transported by boats and shipping containers to port cities before being carried further inland via landscape materials such as railroad ties (railway sleepers). This may explain the current C. formosanus distribution in the USA with coastal areas more densely infested than inland areas (Hochmair and Scheffrahn, 2010). Temperature and humidity are primary factors affecting the establishment of C. formosanus, and it is potentially invasive to areas of high humidity approximately 35° north and south of the equator (Su and Tamashiro, 1987). Competition from native species is another limiting factor for many exotic pests, but C. formosanus is more aggressive and is known to out-compete the endemic termites such as Reticulitermes species. Another factor that has allowed the successful establishment and spread of C. formosanus in exotic areas has been the pest control industry's heavy reliance on soil termiticide barriers for subterranean termite control since the 1950s. Numerous studies, using mark-recapture methods, have revealed that a single colony of C. formosanus might contain several million termites that forage up to 100 m in the soil (Lai, 1977; Su and Scheffrahn, 1988). These agree with the results of excavation studies for C. formosanus colonies (Ehrhorn, 1934; King and Spink, 1969). Because of the large colony size, the application of soil termiticides beneath a structure does not usually have a major impact on the overall population, and the surviving colony continues to produce alates that can further infest nearby areas. Once established, C. formosanus has never been completely eradicated from an area. The dependency of soil termiticide barriers as the primary tool for subterranean termite control is probably the main reason for the establishment and spread of C. formosanus from four isolated port cities in the 1960s in the USA to all south-eastern states by 2001.


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