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Ecology of termites from the genus Nasutitermes (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) and potential for science-based development of sustainable pest management programs

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Abstract

The genus Nasutitermes is among the most abundant wood-feeding Termitidae and an extremely diverse and heterogeneous group in terms of its biogeography and morphology. Despite the major role of several Nasutitermes species as structural pests, the phylogenetic status of this genus is still unclear, along with a confused taxonomy and species identification remaining difficult. The first aim of this review was thus to gather and discuss studies concerning the taxonomic status of the genus Nasutitermes in order to clarify this crucial point. Then, our goal was to gain new insights into the management of N. corniger, considered to be the most economically detrimental pest of this genus in South America and a Nasutitermes model species, while filtering available information concerning its biology through the prism of termite control, as well as critically examine the existing methods. We indeed strongly believe that increasing our knowledge of this species’ biological strategies is the key to progress in the challenging question of their sustainable management.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully thank Dr. Philippe Petit (French West Indies University, UA) for providing Lonchocarpus sp. vegetal material and Arnaud Jahn-Oyac for his technical help. The authors also wish to thank Dr. Thomas Chouvenc from the University of Florida for identifying N. corniger from our field collections. This work is part of the INSECTICIDES project funded by Europe (ERDF OP), French Guiana Regional Council and the Air Liquide Foundation. This work benefited from an “Investissement d’Avenir” grant managed by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (CEBA, ref. ANR-10-LABX-25-01).

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  1. Isabelle Boulogne

    Present address: Département d’Ecologie Sensorielle, Institut d’Ecologie et des Sciences de l’Environnement de Paris (iEES-Paris), Université Pierre et Marie Curie, UMR 7618, 75252, Paris Cedex 05, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université des Antilles, Campus de Fouillole, 97157, Pointe-À-Pitre Cedex, Guadeloupe, France

    Isabelle Boulogne

  2. Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, CNRS, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRA, UA, UG), 23 Avenue Pasteur, BP6010, 97306, Cayenne Cedex, French Guiana

    Isabelle Boulogne, Michaël Falkowski & Emeline Houël

  3. Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de Brasília, 70910-970, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Reginaldo Constantino

  4. CIRAD, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParisTech, CNRS, INRA, UA, UG), BP701, 97310, Kourou Cedex, French Guiana, France

    Nadine Amusant

  5. Laboratoire de Biodiversité et Biotechnologies Microbiennes (LBBM), Observatoire Océanologique, Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, CNRS, 66650, Banyuls/Mer, France

    Alice M. S. Rodrigues

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Communicated by N. Desneux.

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Boulogne, I., Constantino, R., Amusant, N. et al. Ecology of termites from the genus Nasutitermes (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae) and potential for science-based development of sustainable pest management programs. J Pest Sci 90, 19–37 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-016-0796-x

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