Sajap, Ahmad Said

Universiti Putra Malaysia Institutional Repository

FOR Category Fl 0900: Agricultural SciencesFORAGING ACTIVITIES OF SUBTERRANEANTERMITES, CAPTOTERMES CURVIGNATHUS(ISOPTERA: RHINOTERMITIDAE) IN A SUB-URBANAREAAhmad Said SajapDepartment of Forest Management, Faculty of ForestryUniversiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM, Serdang, Selangor,MalaysiaKeywords: termite, Coptotermes curvignathus, forag-ing pattern.IntroductionTermites are common insects in the tropics and majority ofthem is beneficial. Some species, however, are pests of manytrees and structural timber. one of them is Coptotermes cur-vignathus, the most economically important termite in Ma-laysia (Tho, 1992). This termite attacks structural timber inand outside buildings (Sajap and Yaacob, 1997). Like inother species of Rhinotermitidae, C. curvignathus colonydoes not build nest and its cryptic habit makes its presencevery difficult to detect. Its could only be realised when thedamage done had been too severe for treatment. Before atermite infested structure can be treated, some assessment onthe extent of the infestation must be made. Thus this studywas conducted with objectives (i) to establish the foragingpattern; and (ii) determine the feeding activity of C. cur-vignathus in sub-urban area. This information is essential informulating control strategies for the subterranean termites.Materials and MethodsStudy sites: Four sites known for C. curvignathus infestationwere selected for the study. These sites, designated as A, B,C and D, were located in the campus of Universiti PutraMalaysia, Serdang, Malaysia. Stake preparation: Pinus cari-baea, being one of the most susceptible wood to C. cur-vignathus was used in this study. Stakes, 3 X 4 X 30 cm, werecut from freshly felled P. caribaea logs obtained from BatuArang Forest Reserve. They were oven-dried at 80°C for 24h, cooled, weighed and kept in a dry place before use. Ex-perimental procedure: At sites A and D, the survey stakeswere driven into the ground approximately every 2 to 3 madjacent to and around the perimeter of the buildings. Atsites B and C, stakes were placed in a grid at intervals of 3 m.Stakes with termites at each site were selected for the moni-toring traps, modified from a method as described by Su andScheffrahn (1986). Termite foraging territory and populationat sites A, B and C were estimated using a triple marked-recapture method (Su and Scheffrahn, 1988).Results and DiscussionThe first attack by the termites, C. curvignathus, came within1 to 4 weeks after installation of the survey stakes.Site A: Twenty survey stakes were installed around thebuilding. Two stakes adjacent to where the termites dam-aged the building wall were attacked. The colony had forag-i?g populatio~ estimated a~ 166,288 in January 1997 and ter-ntory approximately 15 m . The wood consumption rate was305.9 ± 28.4 g per month. Site B: Out of 120 survey stakesinst~led, and three stakes were attacked by Coptotermestermites. Two stakes had C. curvignathus and one had C.travians. The foraging distance was about 85 m and an esti-mated population in January 1997 of 553,589. The woodconsumption rate was 1108.2 ± 159.7 g per month. Site C :Fifty survey stakes were installed at this site. Eight stakeswere attac~ed and tw~ were replaced with monitoring traps.The foragmg population of this colony was estimated at709,052 in May 1997 and the territory extended to a distanceof 30 m. !he wood consumption rate was 977.4 ± 84.5 g permonth. SIte D: Four out of 20 stakes installed at the backyard of the apartment where two Araucaria trees had beenki~led by termites were infested. Foraging territory, deter-mmed by the presence of dyed termites in the infested stakes. 2 'was approximately 50 m and the wood consumption ratewas 587.9 ± 86.4 g per month. The activities of C. cur-vignathus were reflected in their feeding pattern and foragingarea. As expected a very active colony, indicated by a highrate of wood consumption, had a large foraging area with ahigh population of termites. Even though the feeding activi-ties fluct.uated ove~ time, they were not affected by littlechanges m the environmental conditions such as soil mois-ture content or rainfall. Irrespective of the external environ-mental conditions, termites invariably maintain a relativelyconstant environment in their nests. Such pattern of activitieshad also been seen in C. curvignathus foraging in a rubberplantation (Sajap, 1999). Their activity could be disruptedby extreme environmental conditions such as flooding andcolony disturbances by human and animals. The fluctuationin the feeding activity could be related to the changes in thenumbers of foraging population.ConclusionRegardless of the population fluctuation, foraging activity ofC. curvignathus could be detected and monitored by baitingwith susceptible stakes. While its population and foragingarea could be estimated using dyed termites in triple marked-recapture method.ReferencesSajap, A.S and Yaacob, A.W. 1997. Termites in selected buildingpremises in Selangor. Malays. Forester. 60:1-4.Sajap, A.S. 1999. Detection of Foraging activity of Coptotermescurvignathus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Hevea brasilliensisPlantation in Malaysia. Sociobiology. 33: 137-143.Su, N.Y and Scheffrahn, R.H. 1986. A method to access, trap and tomonitor field populations of Formosan subterranean termites (Is-optera: Rhinotermitidae) in an urban environment. Sociobiology.12: 299-304.SuoN.Y. and Scheffrahn, R.H. 1988. Foraging population and terri-tory of Formosan subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermiti-dae) in an urban environmment. Sociobiology. 14: 353-359.Tho. Y.P. 1992. Termites of Peninsular Malaysia. Malayan ForestRecord No.36. Forest Research Institute Malaysia. Kepong, Ma-laysia.Supported by IRPA GrantOI-02-04-0190137

Foraging activities of subterranean termites, Captotermes curvignathus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in a sub-urban area

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Foraging activities of subterranean termites, Captotermes curvignathus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in a sub-urban area

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