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Using wood extracts to determine the feeding preferences of the western drywood termite,Incisitermes minor (Hagen)

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Abstract

Nymphs of the western drywood termite,Incisitermes minor (Hagen), were tested for their feeding preferences on wood and extracts of 11 tree species. The amount of wood consumed was inversely proportional to its specific gravity, but methanol extracts of least preferred woods were also least preferred when termites were confined to paper treated with extracts. In choice tests, only paper treated with extract of wood from which the colony developed and untreated and methanol-treated controls were significantly fed upon. Ponderosa pine extract applied to Douglas fir and sugar pine significantly decreased the amount of wood consumed. Resistance to termite feeding appeared to depend on the presence of repellent chemicals in the wood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of California, 92502, Riverside, California

    Michael K. Rust & Donald A. Reierson

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  1. Michael K. Rust
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  2. Donald A. Reierson
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Rust, M.K., Reierson, D.A. Using wood extracts to determine the feeding preferences of the western drywood termite,Incisitermes minor (Hagen). J Chem Ecol 3, 391–399 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988182

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988182

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