ACSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.
J Econ Entomol. 2011 Feb;104(1):232-42. doi: 10.1603/ec10155.
Termites (Isoptera) have often been proposed as decomposers oflignocellulosic waste, such as paper products, while termite biomass could be harvested for food supplements. Groups of Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki and Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe) were kept for 4 and 8 wk, respectively, in the laboratory and given up to 10 different types of paper as their food source. Paper consumption, survival, caste composition, and lipid content were recorded. Corrugated cardboard was by far the most consumed paper product, although survival on it was not necessarily favorable. In R. speratus, lipid reserves and neotenic numbers were quite high, but no breeding occurred. Cardboard may be the "junk food" equivalent for termites. Within the tested period, termites did not perform well on paper products that form the bulk of waste paper--corrugated cardboard, newsprint, and pamphlets and magazines. On all paper products (except recycled office paper), neotenic reproductives were formed, but larvae were observed only on kraft pulp and tissue paper. That all waste paper products contain lignocellulosic fibers does not automatically make them suitable for decomposition by termites. Each paper product has to be assessed on its own merit to see whether termites can reproduce on this diet, if it were to be a candidate for sustainable "termidegradation" and termite biomass production.
白蚁（Isoptera）常被提议作为木质纤维素废物（如纸制品）的分解者，而白蚁生物量可以被收获作为食物补充。研究人员分别饲养了 4 周和 8 周的台湾乳白蚁（Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki）和黑胸散白蚁（Reticulitermes speratus （Kolbe），并为其提供了多达 10 种不同类型的纸作为食物来源。记录了纸张消耗、存活率、品级组成和脂质含量。波纹纸板是迄今为止最受欢迎的纸制品，但在上面的存活率不一定有利。在 R. speratus 中，脂质储备和拟态个体数量相当高，但没有繁殖发生。纸板可能是白蚁的“垃圾食品”等价物。在测试期间，白蚁在构成废纸主要部分的纸制品（波纹纸板、新闻纸和小册子和杂志）上表现不佳。在所有纸制品上（除了再生办公用纸），都形成了拟态生殖个体，但仅在牛皮纸浆和纸巾上观察到幼虫。并非所有的废纸制品都含有木质纤维素纤维，这并不自动使它们适合白蚁分解。必须根据每种纸制品的特点来评估它们，以确定如果这种纸制品成为可持续的“白蚁降解”和白蚁生物量生产的候选物，白蚁是否可以在这种饮食中繁殖。
