Southern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1100 Robert E. Lee Blvd., New Orleans, LA 70124, USA.
J Insect Sci. 2011;11:162. doi: 10.1673/031.011.16201.
The effect of barriers of dry soil on the ability of Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), to construct tunnels and find food was evaluated. Termite movement and wood consumption in a three-chambered apparatus were compared between treatments with dry soil in the center container and treatments where the soil in the center container was moist. When a wood block was located in the release container, termites fed significantly more on that block, regardless of treatment or soil type. In the treatment with dry clay, none of the termites tunneled through the dry clay barrier to reach the distal container. When termites had to tunnel through a barrier of dry sand, topsoil, or clay to reach the sole wood block, there was no effect on wood consumption for the sand treatment, but there was significantly less feeding on wood in the treatments with dry topsoil or clay. When foraging arenas had a section of dry sand in the center, the dry sand significantly reduced tunneling in the distal section after 3 days, but not after 10 days. There was a highly significant effect on the ability of termites to colonize food located in dry sand. Only one feeding station located in dry sand was colonized by termites, compared with 11 feeding stations located in moist sand.
干土障碍对台湾乳白蚁（Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki）（等翅目：鼻白蚁科）构建隧道和寻找食物能力的影响进行了评估。在有中心容器干土和中心容器土壤湿润的两种处理方式下，比较了三腔仪器中白蚁的移动和木材消耗情况。无论处理方式或土壤类型如何，当木块位于释放容器中时，白蚁都会显著更多地食用该木块。在干粘土处理中，没有一只白蚁穿过干粘土屏障到达远端容器。当白蚁必须通过干沙、表土或粘土屏障到达唯一的木块时，沙处理对木材消耗没有影响，但在干表土或干粘土处理中，白蚁对木材的摄食量明显减少。当觅食区的中心有一段干沙时，干沙在 3 天后显著减少了远端的隧道数量，但在 10 天后没有影响。干沙对位于干沙中的食物的取食能力有显著影响。与位于湿润沙中的 11 个取食站相比，只有一个位于干沙中的取食站被白蚁殖民。
