Super Absorbent Polymers Buried within Dry Soil Attract Formosan Subterranean Termites (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae)

Abstract

Baiting is one of the main methods to control subterranean termites. Many previous studies showed that subterranean termites avoid making tunnels within dry soil and feeding on dry wood, which may decrease bait infestation and consumption in drought areas. Super absorbent polymers are a group of materials that can retain large amounts of water and improve the moisture content of soil and bait matrices, and therefore may attract termites. In the present study, choice tests were conducted in the laboratory to investigate the aggregation and feeding behaviors of Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, in response to the three super absorbent polymers-sodium polyacrylate (Na-PAM), potassium polyacrylate (K-PAM), and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) potassium salt (P(AM/AA))-that were either placed within soil or filled in the void volume of baiting containers. Under dry-soil (30%-moisture) conditions, termites consumed significantly more wood in the chambers where super absorbent polymers were buried than in the control chambers (super absorbent polymer was not placed within soil). In addition, Na-PAM placed within dry soil significantly increased termite aggregation compared with the control chambers. However, no aggregation or feeding preference was detected when super absorbent polymers were placed within wet soil (60%-moisture). Also, filling super absorbent polymers into the void volume of baiting containers did not attract termites, whether the soil was dry or wet. Our study showed that placing super absorbent polymers within soil around bait stations may increase bait consumption by subterranean termites in drought locations.

Peer Review #1 of "Effects of clay materials and moisture levels on habitat preference and survivorship of Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) (v0.1)"

“…Although these water-retaining materials increased bait consumption, they did not cause significant aggregation by termites, probably because super absorbent polymers are gel-like and therefore termites cannot make tunnels to access the bait matrices (Xie et al, 2019a(Xie et al, , 2019b. The present study showed that bentonite filled in the baiting containers not only caused aggregation of termites but also increased wood consumption under low-moisture conditions (Fig.…”

Termites and maize crops: assemblage composition, damage level, and varietal sensitivity in contrasting agro-ecological zones of the Republic of Benin

“…This could result from the fact that several farmers in the study area practice the destruction of epigeal nesters in maize fields (Loko et al, 2019a). In addition, it is known that subterranean termites adapt better in cultivated land because they can migrate in depth during harsh conditions such as drought (Xie et al, 2019). They great abundance of A. evuncifer in maize fields in all agro-ecological zones could be explained by the polyphagia of this species, which is able to feed on different subtracts (Ogedegbe and Eloka, 2015), and its adaptation in different environments (Wekhe et al, 2019).…”

Effects of clay materials and moisture levels on habitat preference and survivorship of Formosan subterranean termite,Coptotermes formosanusShiraki (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae)

“…Our previous studies tried to create a microhabitat more suitable for termites by adding super absorbent polymers into bait stations. Although these water-retaining materials increased bait consumption, they did not cause significant aggregation by termites, probably because super absorbent polymers are gel-like and therefore termites cannot make tunnels to access the bait matrices ( Xie et al, 2019a ; Xie et al, 2019b ). The present study showed that bentonite filled in the baiting containers not only caused aggregation of termites but also increased wood consumption under low-moisture conditions ( Fig.…”