Wood Preference of Reticulitermes virginicus (Banks) Using Different Experimental Designs and Units of Wood Consumption

Three hundred Reticulitermes virginicus (Banks) workers were placed into three different bioassay designs – no-choice, two-choice, and four-choice –using three 1-cm³ wood blocks representing the following wood genera: Quercus sp. (Red Oak), Populus sp. (Poplar), Pinus sp. (Pine), and Sequoia sp. (Redwood). Wood blocks were collected after 21 days of exposure and were cleaned of debris, dried, and weighed. Wood consumption rates were determined using five quantitative units and two standardized visual rating scales and a preference ranking obtained for each unit or rating scale by bioassay design. The overall preference ranking obtained from a combination of all three bioassay designs was: 1) pine, 2) red oak, 3) redwood, and 4) poplar. Comparison of designs showed that no-choice can determine wood aversion, four-choice the most preferred wood, and two-choice provided a clear comparative ranking with the least variability. The different units all provided the same ranking using the two-choice design but variable rankings were obtained with the other designs. The different units of wood consumption did not have any influence on ranking wood aversion with the no-choice design and the most preferred in the four-choice design.