Chiu Chun-I, Yeh Hsin-Ting, Tsai Ming-Jer, Li Hou-Feng
J Econ Entomol. 2016 Mar 25;109(3):1317-1325. doi: 10.1093/jee/tow050.
Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann), an invasive termite species in Taiwan, has been a major structural pest in southwestern Taiwan. C. gestroi was recently reported to have infested living trees in a Taiwanese forest, showing its potential of becoming an invasive forest pest in Taiwan. To determine whether C. gestroi have naturalized in the forests, we monitored their dispersal flights and estimated their colony development status on the basis of their worker and soldier morphology. The results showed that mature C. gestroi colonies occurred in forest, indicating that C. gestroi has naturalized. The colony sizes of C. gestroi were estimated using a triple mark-release-recapture method. The three studied colonies contained 0.12-0.20 million individuals, which was smaller than that reported in previous studies conducted in urban environments. We speculate that C. gestroi population is suppressed by ants and another dominant termite species, Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki). Colony elimination was achieved four months after employing termite baits for controlling the three colonies of C. gestroi in forest. In summary, although C. gestroi have naturalized in Taiwan, their further expansion in the forest has likely been restricted by ants and other termite species. Termite baits can be a practical option for controlling C. gestroi in the forests.
台湾家白蚁（Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann)）是台湾的一种入侵性白蚁，已成为台湾西南部的主要建筑害虫。最近有报道称台湾家白蚁侵害了台湾一片森林中的活树，这表明它有可能成为台湾的一种入侵性森林害虫。为了确定台湾家白蚁是否已在森林中归化，我们监测了它们的分飞情况，并根据工蚁和兵蚁的形态估计了它们的蚁群发育状况。结果表明，成熟的台湾家白蚁蚁群出现在森林中，这表明台湾家白蚁已经归化。使用三重标记释放再捕获法估计了台湾家白蚁的蚁群规模。所研究的三个蚁群包含12万至20万个个体，比之前在城市环境中进行的研究报告的数量要少。我们推测台湾家白蚁的种群受到蚂蚁和另一种优势白蚁种类——黑翅土白蚁（Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki)）的抑制。在森林中对三个台湾家白蚁蚁群使用白蚁诱饵进行控制四个月后，实现了蚁群的消除。总之，尽管台湾家白蚁已在台湾归化，但其在森林中的进一步扩张可能受到蚂蚁和其他白蚁种类的限制。白蚁诱饵可能是控制森林中台湾家白蚁的一种实用选择。
