A New Subterranean Termite Introduced to Florida: Heterotermes Froggatt (Rhinotermitidae: Heterotermitinae) Established in Miami

Abstract

On 3 January 1995, we were asked to identify termites collected on 30 December 1994 from a house in Miami. The sample, a termite-infested board and attached nest material (carton) contained thousands of workers and hundreds of soldiers and young brachypterous nymphs. We were struck by their small size and recognized the soldiers as Heterotermes which are characterized by their slender and straight mandibles in contrast to the relatively thick, curved mandibles of the native Reticulitermes spp. [Fig. 1; also see Mathews (1977) for character diagnosis of Heterotermes]. The specimens more or less fit the brief description of H. convexinotatus (Snyder 1924), a widely reported northern Neotropical species (Araujo 1977). However, the taxonomic status of Heterotermes in this region is vague and in need of revision, therefore, we have not as yet assigned a species name to this find. On 12 January 1995, we inspected the infested property, a small, older single-family house located 0.6 km east of Interstate Highway 95 and 0.3 km north of Interstate Highway 195 in the Little Haiti district of Miami. The Heterotermes infestation was centered in a room addition which was under construction on the north side of the house. The addition consisted of concrete-block walls opening without a ceiling to a covered wood-truss roof. We observed extensive drywood termite damage to the roof rafters of the original house. The floor area of the addition was unfinished, consisting of fill sand on bare soil. The sand completely or partially buried numerous plywood and solid lumber scraps. Additional scraps were scattered or stacked near the former north wall of the original house. Although conditions were dry, nearly all wood scraps were under some degree of Heterotermes attack. Foraging tubes criss-crossed the surfaces of some of the wood. Fist-size pieces of carton were attached to the older damaged wood. No foraging tubes were observed on any of the structure itself. The condition of the infestation and large numbers of brachypterous nymphs indicated that it had been active for years and had likely undergone one or more annual reproductive dispersal cycles. Our suspicion that additional colonies were established in the neighborhood were confirmed on 30 March 1995 when several soldiers and workers were collected by a pest control operator from a warehouse located about 300 m ENE from the original site. Unlike the original site, the warehouse showed many signs of above-ground for-