Comparative Study of Resistance and Feeding Preference of 24 Wood Species to Attack by Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann) and Coptotermes heimi (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae, Termitidae) in Pakistan.

Farkhanda Manzoor Dugal,Muhammad Umair Latif

doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v62i3.732

Farkhanda Manzoor Dugal, Muhammad Umair Latif

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v62i3.732

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Journal: Sociobiology	Publication Date: Sep 30, 2015
Citations: 7	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Lahore College for Women University

Abstract

Present study was conducted to evaluate the laboratory and field preference of 24 Pakistani wood species: Azadirachta indica (Neem), Pinus roxberghii (Chir), Dalbergia sissoo (Sheesham), Populus deltoides (Popular), Albizzia lebbeck (Shirin), Abies pindrow(fir), Alstonia scholaris (Alstonia), Erythrina suberosa (Gul-e-nister), Eucalyptus citriodora (safaeda), Ficus religiosa (Bohar), Heterophragma adenophyllum (Beeri Patta), Melia azedarach (Derek), Pinus wallichiana (Chir), Terminalia arjuna (Arjun), Acacia Arabica (Kikar), Betula utilis (Birch) Cedrus deodara (Deodar), Cordia oblique (Lasura), Mangifera indi,a (Aam),Ehretia serrata Moringa oleifera (sohanjana), Putranjiva roxburghii (Lucky bean), Syzygium cumini (Jaman) and Zizyphus jujube (Berry) against attack and damage by termite species Heterotermes indicola and Coptotermes heimi. Two weeks laboratory and four weeks field feeding trials were performed as described in standards of the American Wood Protection Association (AWPA, 1997). Samples of each of the 24 wood species were individually exposed to 100 termites (10% soldiers); and termite mortality, wood mass loss and visual appearance of the samples (on a scale of 0-10) were recorded. Results indicated that by no choice feeding assay, Populus deltoides was the most preferred and Dalbergia sissoo was the least preferred among the 24 wood species tested in laboratory against Heterotermes indicola and Coptotermes heimi. Field studies by no choice feeding test against mixed termites and C. heimi indicated D. sissoo the least palatable and Mangifera indica the most palatable wood. So it is recommended that though all 24 species evaluated in the present study differ in their susceptibility to termite attack, they would require additional protection to avoid termite attack.

Highlights

Termites are the major constituents of the forest ecosystem in the tropical and subtropical areas and they are well known for their capacity to damage and destroy wood and wood products of all kinds (Rashmi & Sundararaj, 2013)
Results of No Choice feeding bioassay in the field for C. heimi confined to wooden blocks of different species of wood, the wooden blocks of the wooden blocks of D. sissoo, P. wallichiana, E. deodara, Pu
The results indicated that the wood of D. sissoo was the least preferred and M. indica was the most preferred wood used for C. heimi

Summary

Introduction

Termites are the major constituents of the forest ecosystem in the tropical and subtropical areas and they are well known for their capacity to damage and destroy wood and wood products of all kinds (Rashmi & Sundararaj, 2013). In Pakistan, the most common termite species causing damage to wood and wooden structures are Coptotermes heimi (Wasmann) and Heteroterme indicola (Wasmann) and Microtermes obesi (Holmgren) and Odontotermes obesus (Rambur) Heterotermes indicola has become major structural pest of wood and wooden structures inside houses in Pakistan and has been ranked as the most destructive termite species of the Lahore. It destroys wood but has been found damaging paper, clothes and any cellulosic material (Manzoor, 2010) Coptotermes heimi (Wasmann) is a widely distributed termite in Pakistan and causes damaging effects in standing trees (Khalid & Hina, 2014).

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Conclusion