Selection of Dye Markers for Monitoring Reticulitermes speratus and Identification of Colonies by Heterogeneous Dye-Marking

Abstract

To estimate the territorial size of Reticulitermes speratus, a species of subterranean termites that damages wooden structures in Korea, appropriate dye markers were selected and the diffusion tendency was analyzed. According to the results of the sensitivity assessment using sawdust diet, increase in dye concentration reduced the amount of feed consumption but the dyeing becomes more intense. Except for the Neutral Red 0.5% group, all other concentration groups, including the control group, showed a survival rate of > 85% until week 4. For both, Nile Blue A and Neutral Red dye markers, all concentration conditions > 0.2%, except for the 0.1% concentration, were maintained for 11 weeks, and no sign of transfer effect was found except when the termites were fed with the dye markers. Therefore, it appears that 0.2% of Nile Blue A and Neutral Red is the optimal concentration for monitoring the R. speratus colonies. Additionally, we prepared an indoor 40 m long foraging arena consisting of a colony of 25,000 termites and released individuals stained with 0.2% of Nile Blue A and Neutral Red at both ends to assess the diffusion trends over time. The results showed that it took approximately 7 days for each dyed individual to gradually cover the 40 m distance and mix with each other. These findings reveal that when mark-release-recapture monitoring is conducted on the R. speratus colonies damaging wooden structures, the extent of the colony’s activity area could be measured and different colonies could be distinguished from each other.