Termite Behavior: Measuring the Postanoxic Consumption Rates of Landscape Mulches by Eastern Subterranean Termites

Populations of the Eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, are widespread throughout most of the eastern United States. Subterranean termites have the ability to survive flooding conditions by lowering their metabolism. This lesson investigates the connection between the ability of termites to lower their metabolism to survive floods and their feeding behavior. Using an incubator, Petri dishes, and different types of mulch, termite consumption can be measured and compared. These results can be analyzed with a simple statistical test to look for significance.

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Native Subterranean Termites: Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), Reticulitermes virginicus (Banks), Reticulitermes hageni Banks (Insecta: Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

EDIS ◽

10.32473/edis-in369-2001 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 2004 (5) ◽

Author(s):

Nan-Yao Su ◽

Rudolf H. Scheffrahn ◽

Brian Cabrera

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽

Subterranean Termite ◽

Subterranean Termites ◽

Eastern Region ◽

Pest Species ◽

University Of Florida ◽

Reticulitermes Virginicus ◽

Eastern Subterranean Termite ◽

Reticulitermes Hageni

Most pest species of subterranean termites in North America belong to the endemic genus Reticulitermes. Reticulitermes species are found in every state in the continental United States except Alaska, but are most common in the warm and humid southeastern region. The eastern subterranean termite, R. flavipes is the most widely distributed and is found in the entire eastern region of North America as far north as Ontario, Canada, and south to Key Largo, Florida. Its counterpart, the western subterranean termite, R. hesperus Banks, is found along the entire Pacific Coast ranging from southern California to British Columbia. Reticulitermes tibialis occurs in the inter-mountain region of the West. In addition to R. flavipes, two other Reticulitermes occur in Florida, R. virginicus, and R. hageni. This document is EENY-212, one of a series of Featured Creatures from the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published: May 2001. EENY-212/IN369: Native Subterranean Termites: Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), Reticulitermes virginicus (Banks), Reticulitermes hageni Banks (Insecta: Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) (ufl.edu)

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EASTERN SUBTERRANEAN TERMITE (ISOPTERA: RHINOTERMITIDAE) FORAGING TERRITORIES AND POPULATIONS IN TORONTO

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent121551-7 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 121 (7) ◽

pp. 551-556 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

J.K. Grace ◽

A. Abdallay ◽

K.R. Farr

Keyword(s):

Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽

Subterranean Termite ◽

Population Estimates ◽

Subterranean Termites ◽

Mark Release Recapture ◽

Eastern Subterranean Termite ◽

Foraging Distances

AbstractA mark–release–recapture study was conducted with dye-marked eastern subterranean termites, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), at two sites in metropolitan Toronto. Interconnected termite galleries were found to extend up to 79 m and to cover areas of 266 and 1091 m2. Colony foraging populations at the two sites were estimated at 2.1 and 3.2 million termites. These foraging distances and population estimates exceed those reported for R. flavipes in other regions.

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RETENTION TIME AND TOXICITY OF A DYE MARKER, SUNDAN RED 7B, ON FORMOSAN AND EASTERN SUBTERRANEAN TERMITES (ISOPTERA: RHINOTERMITIDAE)

Journal of Entomological Science ◽

10.18474/0749-8004-23.3.235 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 235-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Nan-Yao Su ◽

Rudolf H. Scheffrahn ◽

Paul Ban

Keyword(s):

Population Size ◽

Retention Time ◽

Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽

Coptotermes Formosanus ◽

Subterranean Termite ◽

Subterranean Termites ◽

Mark Recapture ◽

Coptotermes Formosanus Shiraki ◽

Eastern Subterranean Termite ◽

Significant Mortality

Workers of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, and the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) were force-fed a dye marker, Sudan Red 7B, and confined with different proportions of unmarked termites. No significant mortality due to the dye was detected for up to 8 weeks after the treatment in either species. The marked/unmarked proportion did not affect the retention of the dye or mortality. Workers of C. formosanus retained visible dye for 6 weeks, while significant numbers (10–50%) of marked R. flavipes lost the dye within two weeks. Sudan Red 7B is suitable for estimating population size of C. formosanus with the multiple-marking method where the mark-recapture period extends to 6 weeks. The dye is not an adequate marker for R. flavipes when the mark-recapture period is ≥ 2 weeks.

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Breeding Patterns and Population Genetics of Eastern Subterranean Termites Reticulitermes flavipes in Urban Environment of Nebraska, United States

Sociobiology ◽

10.13102/sociobiology.v65i3.2821 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 65 (3) ◽

pp. 506 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Abdul Hafiz Ab Majid ◽

Shripat Kamble ◽

Hong Chen

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Breeding System ◽

Population Genetic ◽

Geographic Distance ◽

Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽

Mantel Test ◽

Subterranean Termite ◽

Subterranean Termites ◽

Urban Structures ◽

Mixed Family

Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) has become the most destructive subterranean termite pest, on urban structures in Nebraska. In this study, we used seven microsatellite loci to infer the colony breeding system and population genetic structure among 20 infested urban structures in Nebraska. Our data revealed that 17 structures were infested by simple family colonies of R. flavipes, while, the remaining three were infested with mixed family colonies. The measure of population differentiation, FCT value (0.459) indicated that all the 20 urban colonies (10 - 410 km apart) represented pronounced levels of genetic differentiation. The Mantel test disclosed a weak and significantly-positive correlation between genetic and geographic distance (slope = 0.0009, P = 0.001). The urban populations of R. flavipes in Nebraska possessed a breeding system characterized by monogamous pairs of outbred reproductives with excessive heterozygosity.

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Inhibition of Metarhizium anisopliae in the alimentary tract of the eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes

Journal of Invertebrate Pathology ◽

10.1016/j.jip.2009.04.005 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 101 (2) ◽

pp. 130-136 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Thomas Chouvenc ◽

Nan-Yao Su ◽

Alain Robert

Keyword(s):

Metarhizium Anisopliae ◽

Alimentary Tract ◽

Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽

Subterranean Termite ◽

Eastern Subterranean Termite

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Supercooling Differences in the Eastern Subterranean Termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Journal of Entomological Science ◽

10.18474/0749-8004-39.4.525 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 39 (4) ◽

pp. 525-536 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Brian J. Cabrera ◽

Shripat T. Kamble

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Pressure ◽

Reticulitermes Flavipes ◽

Biochemical Properties ◽

Subterranean Termite ◽

Control Groups ◽

Supercooling Point ◽

Ice Nucleators ◽

Laboratory Workers ◽

Eastern Subterranean Termite ◽

Termite Hindgut

Supercooling points were determined for untreated field-collected and untreated laboratory-maintained Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) workers and soldiers. Workers treated with antibiotics or had their hindgut-protozoa removed by exposing them to oxygen under pressure to determine the effects of absence of the hindgut fauna on supercooling. Supercooling points were compared between live and freshly-killed workers to determine whether supercooling in this species might be simply due to the biochemical properties of body fluids. Laboratory-maintained workers were also subjected to desiccation, starvation, or atmospheric pressure to determine their effects on supercooling. Supercooling points were lowest for laboratory workers treated with antibiotics and those that fed on brown paper-toweling for 7 d. Untreated field-collected workers had significantly higher supercooling points than untreated laboratory-maintained workers (−6.06 ± 0.79°C vs −9.29 ± 2.38°C, P < 0.0001). Both untreated field-collected and laboratory soldiers had significantly lower supercooling points than their respective workers (−7.39 ± 2.01°C vs −6.06 ± 0.79°C, P < 0.0001; and −11.60 ± 2.53°C vs −9.29 ± 2.38°C, P< 0.0001, respectively). There was no significant association between termite body mass and supercooling points for both laboratory and field termites (P= 0.0523 and P = 0.6242) or water content of laboratory termites and supercooling points (P = 0.1425). Defaunated workers had significantly lower supercooling points (−10.34 ± 2.38°C) than normally faunated workers (−9.48 ± 1.85°C)(P= 0.0095) suggesting that the symbiotic fauna may have higher supercooling points and act as ice nucleators in the termite hindgut. Starved and desiccated workers had significantly lower supercooling points (−10.38 ± 2.70°C and −10.39 ± 2.38°C, respectively) than their corresponding control groups (−9.87 ± 2.11°C and −9.89 ± 1.94°C; P = 0.0454; P = 0.0234, respectively) and untreated workers (−9.29 ± 2.38°C; P= 0.0021; P= 0.0011) suggesting that some forms of physical stress might lower the supercooling point.

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