Eur. J. Entomol. 102 (4): 691-697, 2005

Foraging activity and demographic patterns of two termite species (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) living in urban landscapes in southeastern Brazil

Alberto ARAB1, Ana Maria COSTA-LEONARDO2, Fabiana Elaine CASARIN2, André De Camargo GUARALDO2, Ricardo C. CHAVES2
1 Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (Esalq), Departamento de Entomologia, Fitopatologia e Zoologia Agrícola, Piracicaba - SP, CEP 13418-900, Brazil; e-mail: alberto@esalq.usp.br
2 Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Biociências, Departamento de Biologia, Rio Claro - SP, CEP 13506-900, Brazil

Coptotermes gestroi and Heterotermes tenuis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) are important pests in southeastern Brazil causing serious economic damage. In this study we determined the demographic patterns and foraging activity of these species using mark-release-recapture and the consumption of wooden stakes. Using both the weighted mean and Lincoln index methods, population estimates ranged from ≈ 0.57 to 1.99 million individuals for C. gestroi and from ≈ 0.20 to 1.37 million for H. tenuis. Territory size of the colonies ranged from 172.5 to 5235 m2 for C. gestroi and from 16 to 40 m2 for H. tenuis. Our results also indicate that foraging activity was dependent on the minimum temperature; however, the existence of a compensation strategy in the foraging activities may permit foragers to exploit food sources under different environmental conditions.

Keywords: Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae, subterranean termites, mark-release-recapture, territory size, wood consumption

Received: October 29, 2004; Revised: July 7, 2005; Accepted: July 7, 2005; Published: November 3, 2005  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
ARAB, A., COSTA-LEONARDO, A.M., CASARIN, F.E., GUARALDO, A.D.C., & CHAVES, R.C. (2005). Foraging activity and demographic patterns of two termite species (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) living in urban landscapes in southeastern Brazil. EJE, 102(4), 691-697
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. ARAUJO R.L. 1958: Contribuicao L biogeografia dos termitas de Sao Paulo, Brasil (Insecta, Isoptera). Arq. Inst. Biol. 25: 185-217
    2. BEGON M. 1979: Investigating Animal Abundance: CaptureRecapture for Biologist. University Park Press, Baltimore, MD, 97 pp
    3. COSTA-LEONARDO A.M. 2002: Cupins-Praga: Morfologia, Biologia e Controle. Rio Claro, Sao Paulo, 128 pp
    4. CURTIS A.D. & WALLER D.A. 1997: Problems with the interpretation of mark-release recapture data in subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Sociobiology 30: 233-241
    5. DELAPLANE K.S. & LA FAGE J.P. 1987: Variance in feeding on equivalent wood blocks by the Formosan subterranean termite in laboratory choice tests. Sociobiology 13: 227-233
    6. DELAPLANE K.S. & LA FAGE J.P. 1989: Preference of the Formosan subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) for wood damaged by conspecifics. J. Econ. Entomol. 82: 1363-1366 Go to original source...
    7. DELAPLANE K.S., SAXTON A.M. & LA FAGE J.P. 1991: Foraging phenology of the Formosan subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Louisiana. Am. Midl. Nat. 125: 222-230 Go to original source...
    8. EVANS T.A., LENZ M. & GLEESON P.V. 1998: Testing assumptions of mark-recapture protocols for estimating population size using Australian mound-building, subterranean termites. Ecol. Entomol. 23: 139-149 Go to original source...
    9. EVANS T.A., LENZ M. & GLEESON P.V. 1999: Estimating population size and forager movement in a tropical subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Environ. Entomol. 28: 823-830 Go to original source...
    10. FORSCHLER B.T. & JENKINS T.M. 2000: Subterranean termites in the urban landscape: understanding their social structure is the key to successfully implementing population management using bait technology. Urban Ecosyst. 4: 231-251 Go to original source...
    11. FORSCHLER B.T. & TOWNSEND M.L. 1996: Mark-releaserecapture estimates of Reticulitermes spp. (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) colony foraging populations from Georgia, U.S.A. Environ. Entomol. 25: 952-962 Go to original source...
    12. GRACE J.K., ABDALLAY A. & FARR K.R. 1989: Eastern subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) foraging territories and populations in Toronto. Can. Entomol. 121: 551-556 Go to original source...
    13. HAAGSMA K.A. & RUST M.K. 1995: Colony size estimates, foraging trends, and physiological characteristics of the Western subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Environ. Entomol. 24: 1520-1528 Go to original source...
    14. HEDLUNG J.C. & HENDERSON G. 1999: Effect of available food size on search tunnel formation by the Formosan subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 92: 610-616
    15. JONES S.C. 1990: Delineation of Heterotermes aureus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) foraging territories in a Sonoran desert grassland. Environ. Entomol. 19: 1047-1054 Go to original source...
    16. KIRTON L.G. & BROWN V.K. 2003: The taxonomic status of pest species of Coptotermes in Southeast Asia: Resolving the paradox in the pest status of the termites, Coptotermes gestroi, C. havilandi, and C. travians (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Sociobiology 42: 43-63
    17. LEE C.Y. 2002: Control of foraging colonies of subterranean termites, Coptotermes travians (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Malaysia using Hexaflumuron baits. Sociobiology 39: 411-416
    18. LENZ M. 1994: Food resources, colony growth and caste development in wood-feeding termites. In Hunt J.H. & Nalepa C.A. (eds): Nourishment and Evolution in Insect Societies. Westview Press, Oxford, pp. 159-209
    19. NUTTING W.L. & JONES S.C. 1990: Methods for studying the ecology of subterranean termites. Sociobiology 17: 167-189
    20. RIPA R., CASTRO L., SU N.Y. & PALMA P. 2002: Laboratory estimate of wood consumption rates by Reticulitermes sp. (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Chile. Sociobiology 39: 285-290
    21. SHAHID A.S. & AKHTAR M.S. 1989: Effect of volume and position of stakes on feeding by subterranean termites (Isoptera). Sociobiology 16: 99-108
    22. SOKAL R.R. & ROHLF J. 1995: Biometry. W.H. Freeman, New York, 887 pp
    23. SORNNUWAT Y., TSUNODA K., YOSHIMURA T., TAKAHASHI M. & VONGKALUANG C. 1996: Foraging population of Coptotermes gestroi (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 89: 1485-1490 Go to original source...
    24. SU N.-Y. 2002: Novel technologies for subterranean termite control. Sociobiology 40: 95-101
    25. SU N.-Y. & SCHEFFRAHN R.H. 1988: Foraging population and territory of the Formosan subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in an urban environment. Sociobiology 14: 353-359
    26. SU N.-Y. & SCHEFFRAHN R.H. 1996: A review of the evaluation criteria for bait-toxicant efficacy against field colonies of subterranean termites (Isoptera). Sociobiology 28: 521-530
    27. SU N.-Y. & SCHEFFRAHN R.H. 1998: A review of subterranean termite control practices and prospects for integrated pest management programmes. Integr. Pest Manag. Rev. 3: 1-13 Go to original source...
    28. SU N.-Y., BAN P.M. & SCHEFFRAHN R.H. 2000: Control of Coptotermes havilandi (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) with Hexaflumuron baits and a sensor incorporated into a monitoring and bating program. J. Econ. Entomol. 93: 415-421 Go to original source...
    29. THORNE B.L., RUSSEK-COHEN E., FORSCHLER B.T., BREISCH N.L. & TRANIELLO J.F.A. 1996: Evaluation of mark-releaserecapture methods for estimating forager population size of subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) colonies. Environ. Entomol. 25: 938-951 Go to original source...
    30. WALLER D.A. 1988: Host selection in subterranean termites: factors affecting choice (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Sociobiology 14: 5-13
    31. WALLER D.A. & LA FAGE J.P. 1987: Seasonal patterns in foraging groups of Coptotermes formosanus (Rhinotermitidae). Sociobiology 13: 173-181

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content