Feeding Preferences of the Drywood Termite,Cryptotermes brevis

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Abstract
Feeding preference order of micropterous Cryptotermes brevis Walker nymphs in homogeneous laminates of paired sapwood pieces was balsa > western redcedar > Douglas-fir > southern yellow pine by volume consumed, and cedar > fir > balsa > pine by weight consumed. Only pine was consumed in significantly less quantities both by volume and weight. In laminates with combinations of 2 wood species, significantly more volumes of balsa were consumed than of any other wood, significantly more volumes of fir and cedar than pine were consumed when they were paired with pine, but there was no significant difference in volume consumption of fir and cedar when they were paired. Almost no pine was consumed regardless of the wood species with which it was paired. The responses based on weight were similar, except that significantly more fir than cedar was consumed in combination with cedar. Significantly more volume or weight of balsa than “normal” (average consumption of balsa in homogeneous laminates) was consumed in combination with cedar or fir, and significantly more fir than normal was consumed in combination with pine; significantly less cedar or fir than normal was consumed in combinations with balsa. Nymphal development was accelerated in balsa, whether the balsa was present in homogeneous or combination laminates.

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