Morphology and foraging behavior of Oklahoma's grass-feeding termite: Gnathamitermes tubiformans (Isoptera: Termitidae)

Grass-feeding termites, Gnathamitermes sp., can be considered beneficial in pastureland, where they aerate topsoil, recycle nutrients from grasses and forbs, and excavate and redistribute soil. The primary objective of this report is to illustrate and determine the average physical dimensions of Gnathamitermes tubiformans soldiers by measuring key body parts, including left mandible length, as well as discuss observed foraging behavior. G.Tubiformans soldiers have unique mandibles that can be used for accurate identification. Workers are morphologically similar compared with some other arid-land termite species, thus soldier characteristics are used for identification. The secondary objective is to describe observations of G.Tubiformans foraging behavior. This report also provides detailed line drawings and a watercolor illustration for aid in identification. Termites were collected near Temple, Cotton County, Oklahoma, and measured with high precision microscopy. To ensure accurate identification, fourteen different soldier body measurements were determined. The ability to identify termites that are potentially beneficial or detrimental to forage grass biomass production may aid efforts to enhance livestock production on pastures.Peer reviewedEntomology and Plant PathologyPsycholog

A Survey on Transit Map Layout – from Design, Machine, and Human Perspectives

Transit maps are designed to present information for using public transportation systems, such as urban railways. Creating a transit map is a time‐consuming process, which requires iterative information selection, layout design, and usability validation, and thus maps cannot easily be customised or updated frequently. To improve this, scientists investigate fully‐ or semi‐automatic techniques in order to produce high quality transit maps using computers and further examine their corresponding usability. Nonetheless, the quality gap between manually‐drawn maps and machine‐generated maps is still large. To elaborate the current research status, this state‐of‐the‐art report provides an overview of the transit map generation process, primarily from Design, Machine, and Human perspectives. A systematic categorisation is introduced to describe the design pipeline, and an extensive analysis of perspectives is conducted to support the proposed taxonomy. We conclude this survey with a discussion on the current research status, open challenges, and future directions

Pest e-alerts, vol. 16, no. 22: Carpenter ant swarming season in Oklahoma

This publication, formally known as the Plant Disease and Insect Advisory newsletter by the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, underwent a title transition. It is now recognized by the title Pest e-Alerts.Entomology and Plant Patholog

Termite Feeding on Aspen and Pine Stakes on a High Elevation Sagebrush-Steppe Rangeland in Southeastern Idaho

An indigenous subterranean termite, Reticulitermes tibialis Banks, fed on quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) stakes in prescribed burn and non-burned field plots on an established sagebrush-steppe rangeland restoration study site on Red Mountain, southeastern Idaho, expanding the known distribution of the \u27arid-land subterranean termite\u27 species. Aspen and pine stakes in the plots as part of a 5-year wood-decay study were unexpectedly damaged by termites. Groups of 25, 15-cm-long stakes were placed horizontally on the soil surface, and groups of 25, 20-cm-long stakes were vertically inserted to a depth of 20 cm into the soil. Aspen stakes were more damaged by feeding termites than were pine stakes. Stakes inserted into soil sustained greater termite feeding and decay damage compared with stakes on the soil surface. During the first 4 years of the study, wood mass loss caused by termite feeding on stakes exceeded loss from decay. Losses from termite feeding and microbial decay were similar by the 5thyear. Differences in termite feeding damage on aspen stakes were compared with pine stakes in prescribed burn and non-burned plots. Stakes in prescribed burn plots had more mass loss than those in non-burned plots