Responses of termites to wood blocks infested with three types of wood rot fungi, a brown rot fungus, a litter rot fungus, and a white rot fungus, decayed over a 12 week period under three different light:dark cycles were examined. There were differences in the response of termites to wood blocks infested with the three types of wood rot fungi. Also, responses of termites to wood blocks were affected by both the length of time blocks were decayed and by the light:dark cycle. Responses of termites varied from a strong preference for fungus-infested wood blocks to a strong avoidance of fungus-infested wood blocks. Results of this research demonstrate that interactions between termites and wood rot fungi are complex.
Species 1: Isoptera Rhinotermitidae Coptotermes formosanus (Formosan subterranean termite)
Keywords: feeding behavior, pest control
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA