Coptotermes formosanus (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) established in Israel and world distribution of a major termite pest

By

Scheffrahn, Rudolf H.
Bahder, Brian W.
Lu, Tomer

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020-11-11

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

16

Series / Issue

Issue: 6

Pages

1537--1543

Subjects

COI sequence , new localities , soldier morphology , world distribution

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/16.6.1537

 

Abstract

The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, 1909, is a highly destructive structural pest endemic to East Asia. We report a land-based establishment of C. formosanus in Petah Tikva, Israel, over 6000 km from its nearest previous locality in China. The species’ identity was confirmed by soldier morphology and by COI sequence data. In addition, a population discovered in 1992 in suburban San Diego, California, USA, remains viable. Marathon hosts the first infestation of C. formosanus in the Florida Keys. The world distribution of C. formosanus is presented, and the biogeography and mechanisms of spread of this termite are discussed.