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Environmental factors influencing the foraging and feeding behavior of two termite species (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in natural habitats.

2010; UNIVERSIDADE ESTADUAL DE FEIRA DE SANTANA; Volume: 55; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

2447-8067

Marcus Nascimento Santos, M. L. F. Teixeira, Maurício Ballesteiro Pereira, Eurípedes Barsanulfo Menezes,

Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Coptotermes gestroi and Heterotermes longiceps are invasive species that cause serious economic damage in many parts of Brazil. The effects of morning and afternoon luminosity at the study sites, morning and afternoon soil temperature, maximum and minimum air temperature, rainfall, soil moisture and relative humidity on the foraging and feeding behavior of colonies of Coptotermes gestroi and Heterotermes longiceps attracted to Pinus spp. stakes were monitored monthly for 12 months in natural habitats. We evaluated termite preference for Pinus spp. stakes under different times (0 (control), 24 or 48 hours) of previous immersion in distilled water. Our results showed that feeding at baits by the subterranean termite C. gestroi was negatively correlated with relative humidity, soil moisture and rainfall. For H. longiceps, it was negatively correlated with the relative humidity and positively correlated with the soil moisture. The results show that environmental factors affected the seasonal foraging activity in March (summer) and September (spring). The environmental factors had different influences on the attack patterns for each termite species. Termite management programs should take into account that monitoring for a minimum of one month is necessary for assessing C. gestroi attacks and a minimum of four months is required when monitoring H. longiceps attacks. The test of the previous immersion of Pinus spp. stakes in distilled water showed that it is not necessary because there was no difference from the control. These findings contribute to the overall understanding of these Neotropical termite species.