Wood consumption rates of forest species by subterranean
termites (Isoptera) under field conditions

Regina Célia  Peralta  Gonçalves; Eurípedes  Menezes  Barsanulfo; Acácio  Carvalho  Geraldo; Elen  Aguiar Menezes  de Lima

Wood consumption rates of forest species by subterranean termites (Isoptera) under field conditions

Autores

Regina Célia Peralta Gonçalves

Eurípedes Menezes Barsanulfo

Acácio Carvalho Geraldo

Elen Aguiar Menezes de Lima

Editor

Universidade Federal de Viçosa

Descripción

Termites are well -known for their capacity to damage and destroy wood and wood products of allkinds in the tropics and subtropics. A field test was undertaken to evaluate variations in wood consumption of Pinussp. and three species of Eucalyptus by subterranean termites. The test consisted of wooden stakes of each speciesbeing initially submitted to water immersion for 0, 24, 48 and 72 h, and buried in the ground to natural infestation bysubterranean termites for an exposure period of 30, 45 and 60 days. Three species of subterranean termites wereidentified: Heterotermes longiceps (Snyder), Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), andNasutitermes jaraguae (Holmgren) (Isoptera: Termitidae). This is the first record of occurrence of H. longiceps in thestate of Rio de Janeiro. Although the wood-consumption rates were not correlated significantly with their wooddensities, there was a tendency of the softwoods (E. robusta and Pinus sp.) to be more consumed by subterraneantermites than the woods of intermediate hardness (E. pellita and E. urophylla). Among the eucalyptus, E. robustashowed to be more susceptible to attack by subterranean termites than E. pellita and E. urophylla.