Potential spread of the invasive North American termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, and the impact of climate warming

Invasion Dynamics of A Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, at Different Spatial Scales in France

“…Subterranean termites can establish themselves and spread within cities, which provide hospitable habitat [31]. Study has also recently shown that termite infestations in Paris may spread via railway transport, a pattern that was also observed in CVL [32,55,56]. It should be noted that, in several regions, termite infestations have often been found in forests in the vicinity of railroad tracks (personal communication).…”

“…We may think that Paris has been quickly infested by R. flavipes , even if the first record of its presence only arrived in Paris dates back to 1922 [58]. In CVL, R. flavipes was first observed in 1965 in Chouzé-sur-Loire; records in and around Tours are more recent (1980s) [32,55]. Some colonies in CVL have been found less than 200 meters from railway tracks, which means that they might be connected to other colonies in this area, to the north (i.e., Paris), and along the Atlantic Coast, where termite infestations are more widespread and denser.…”

“…These two colony-level traits are thought to be preadaptations, allowing termite colonies to successfully invade new ranges, mainly because these traits allowed introduced colonies to reproduce and become established right after their introduction and then spread more rapidly via human-mediated dispersal [29]. Recently, researchers have developed temporal and spatial models integrating these traits that have been used to predict termite’s future spread [32]. More specifically, these studies aim to predict what will happen under conditions of climate warming in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France, where the termite’s presence was first recorded in the 1980s [32].…”

“…Recently, researchers have developed temporal and spatial models integrating these traits that have been used to predict termite’s future spread [32]. More specifically, these studies aim to predict what will happen under conditions of climate warming in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France, where the termite’s presence was first recorded in the 1980s [32]. The results show that increasing temperatures should increase the amount of favorable habitat and, consequently, termites could continue to spread within this region and throughout France.…”

First report of the invasive Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar, 1837) (Blattodea, Rhinotermitidae) in the Canary Islands

“…The invasiveness of this species outside its native range can be explained by the production of a large number of neotenic reproductives within colonies and the high fusion frequency among colonies (Perdereau et al, ). These characteristics favour human‐mediated dispersal and increase colony foundation success (Suppo, Robinet, Perderau, Andrieu, & Bagnères, ). The average dispersion distance of alates is around 150 m (Baudouin, Bech, Bagnères, & Dedeine, ), sometimes reaching 400 m (Shelton, Hu, Appel, & Wagner, ).…”