SEMIOCHEMICALS EXTRACTED FROM A DOLICHODERINE ANT AFFECTS THE FEEDING AND TUNNELING BEHAVIOR OF THE FORMOSAN SUBTERRANEAN TERMITE (ISOPTERA, RHINOTERMITIDAE)

Bioassays were performed to test the responses of the Formosan subteranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, to dichloromethane extracts of whole Iridomyrmex glaber (Mayr) workers. Termite workers were strongly repelled by filter papers treated with I. glaber extracts. In a choice test, termite workers fed significantly less on filter papers treated with I. glaber extract compared with solvent-treated controls within a 24-h period. Bioassays also were performed to evaluate the effect of different concentrations of ant extract on termite tunneling behavior. The rate at which termites penetrated the treated sand was concentration dependent. In 10 d, termites failed to penetrate any of the sand barriers treated with either 250 or 500 ant equivalents per gram of sand. Our results suggest that ant semiochemicals are a potential source of natural products that could prove useful for termite control.