UF/IFAS: Hybrid termite species could spell trouble

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April 6, 2015

Nan-Yao Su

Dr. Nan-Yao Su

Dr. Nan-Yao Su and a team of additional University of Florida entomologists have found that Asian (Coptotermes gestroi) and Formosan (C. formosanus) subterranean termites are beginning to mate and start new hybrid colonies in South Florida. Their findings have been published in the latest issue of PLOS ONE.

While they have yet to determine whether the hybrid termite is fertile or sterile, it likely poses a danger, notes Dr. Su, an entomology professor at the UF Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, part of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

“Because a termite colony can live up to 20 years with millions of individuals, the damaging potential of a hybrid colony remains a serious threat to homeowners, even if the hybrid colony does not produce fertile winged termites,” he explains. “This is especially true when the colony exhibits hybrid vigor as we witnessed in the laboratory.”

UF scientists previously thought the two termite species had distinct swarming seasons that prevented them from interacting. Their new research indicates not only an overlap of seasons where the two species are interbreeding; it shows that male Asian termites prefer to mate with Formosan females rather than females of their own species, increasing the risk of hybridization.

“This is worrisome, as the combination of genes between the two species results in highly vigorous hybridized colonies that can develop twice as fast as the two parental species,” says Thomas Chouvenc, an assistant researcher who works with Su. “The establishment of hybrid termite populations is expected to result in dramatically increased damage to structures in the near future.”

If hybridized colonies have the ability to produce large numbers of fertile alates, this new termite menace could inherit the invasive qualities of both parental species and make its way out of Florida, he adds.

“Right now, we barely see the tip of the iceberg,” Su says. “But we know it’s a big one.”

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