An illustrated identification key to the North American termite families and genera based mainly on soldier caste is proposed. A checklist of termites (Insecta: Blattodea: Isoptera) Canada, continental USA Mexico presented, listing 89 species (and two subspecies) grouped in 26 four families. Five are added Mexican fauna, these records for states Campeche: Cryptotermes cavifrons; Quintana Roo: c...

An experiment was carried out in order to investigate fungal conidia transmission of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin from vector (donor) to healthy Microcerotermes diversus Silvestri (Iso.: Termitidae) and determine the best donor/concentration ratio for transmission. After preliminary trials, concentrations of 3.1 × 10⁴, 3.9 × 10⁵, 3.2 × 10⁶ and 3.5 × 10(8) conidia mL(-1) were se...

Subterranean termite control accounted for 50% of the total business turnover of the Malaysian pest control industry in 2000, of which USS8-10 million were spent. About 70% of termite treatments were done on residential premises, 20% on industrial buildings and 10% on commercial buildings. The most important species are Coptotermes travians, C. curvignathus, C. havilandi C. kalshoveniand C. sep...

In this study, we examine gene diversity for formyl-tetrahydrofolate synthetase (FTHFS), a key enzyme in homoacetogenesis, recovered from the gut microbiota of six species of higher termites. The "higher" termites (family Termitidae), which represent the majority of extant termite species and genera, engage in a broader diversity of feeding and nesting styles than the "lower" termites. Previous...