Two exotic termites find love in Florida, worrying researchers

[FLPanhandle]

http://gulfnews.com/culture/environment/two-exotic-termites-find-love-in-florida-worrying-researchers-1.1481037

MIAMI: Two particularly hungry, exotic termite species apparently have found love halfway around the world and, as with so many other Florida hookups, the results are disturbing.

Asian and Formosan subterranean termites are two of the most destructive termite species in the world, responsible for much of the estimated $40 billion (Dh147 billion) in economic losses attributed to termites annually. Their habitat ranges overlap in lush South Florida, already home to a daunting number of invasive plant and animal species thriving where they should not. Each termite invaded Florida, probably through cargo shipments, several decades ago, but experts believed the colonies didn’t mingle because their aboveground mating swarms launched in different months.

That is, until University of Florida researcher Thomas Chouvenc noticed something unusual about the termite swarms in his Fort Lauderdale neighbourhood two years ago.

The two species were flying around looking for mates at the same time — and they were giving each other that look.

The research is preliminary and leaves many questions unanswered, but the idea of a hybrid termite carrying the destructive capabilities of two invasive species worries experts.

“That’s big news,” said Matthew Messenger, an entomologist at the US Department of Agriculture. “They’re two bad ones, too.”



“What we didn’t expect to see was when they’re in the same place at the same time, we saw the male Asian subterranean termites looking for the female Formosan termites in the field,” Chouvenc said.

“When we put them in vials and brought them back to the lab, to our biggest surprise they started laying eggs and the eggs started growing.”

The resulting “hybrid” colony in the lab grew more vigorously than colonies produced by either species alone, researchers said. Genetic analysis confirmed they were looking at a hybrid species.


“Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they’re not able (to reproduce) and that they’re donkey termites,” said Messenger, who reviewed the data but did not participate in the UF study.

Even if hybrid termites can’t reproduce, they could cause damage over many years. Alone, each species is a challenge to control. Their below-ground colonies are bigger than those of native termites and can be hard to find.

The Formosan termites originated in China but now are established throughout the Southeast and blamed for roughly $300 million in property damage each year in New Orleans alone. Asian termites normally found in tropical southeastern Asia have spread to Brazil, the Caribbean and South Florida.

Asian termites aren’t expected to spread farther north in the US than South Florida because they don’t tolerate colder weather, but a hybrid might be able to thrive in a greater range than either species alone.




Great. We need GMO lumber that termites can't digest.

[mitch96]

1. And I know who they are!!

Rubio and Scott!!

m

[Johnyawl]

2. South Florida will be underwater soon and the termites will all drown.

PROBLEM SOLVED! See how smart the republicans are to solve this problem without relying on big government!