Feeding Responses of Termite Coptotermes heimi (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) Against Fifteen Commercial Timbers Under Laboratory and Field Conditions

Tariq, Hafiz Muhammad; Rasib, Khalid Zamir; Batool, Kinza; Haroon, Saim; Liaqat, Aneeqa; Rehman, Shanza; Ghafoor, Kiran; Nawaz, Amna; Saleem, Nida; Fayaz, Minahal; Hanif, Muhammad

doi:10.21608/eajbsa.2021.198813

Feeding Responses of Termite Coptotermes heimi (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) Against Fifteen Commercial Timbers Under Laboratory and Field Conditions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Institute of molecular biology and biotechnology (IMBB), University of Lahore. I km Defence Road. Lahore, Pakistan

² Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Lahore, Lahore, 5400, Pakistan

10.21608/eajbsa.2021.198813

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the feeding response of Coptotermes heimi termites on different commercial timbers along with the assessment of different timbers and their resistance and non-resistance behavior under lab and field conditions at 100⁰C. There were fifteen wood species that were investigated regarding attack and damage which include Abies pindrow (partal), Cedrus deodara (diar), Acacia arabica (keekar), Dalbergia sisso (tali), Mangifera indica (mango), Pinus roxburghii (Chir pine), Populus euramericana (Poplar), Albizia lebbek (Shreen), Syzygium cumini (Jaman), Pongamia pinnata (Sukh chain), Morus nigra (Shahtoot), Pinus wallichiana (Chir), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Pinus ponderosa (Yellow pine), Ceylon cedar (Dhraik, Bakain). Two weeks of laboratory and 3 months of field trials were performed with suitable conditions. The samples of every fifteen wood species were prepared and exposed to different species of termites by burying them in the active nests of termites. This practical was performed at the Wagah border 30 km away from Lahore. After this time, the factors which were to be noted were wood mass loss and the visual appearance of each sample. This also includes a choice and no choice feeding test. This trial is made to evaluate the non-resistance of wood to termite attack. At the end of the experiment, it has been observed that the most palatable wood is P. euramericana and the most resistant woods are S. cuminiand P. pinata in no-choice trials and in choice trials the most palatable wood is P. euramericana and most resistant wood isS. cumini.

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