Natural Wood-Consumption Rates and Survival of a Dry-Wood and a Subterranean Termite at Constant Temperatures1, 2

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Abstract
Groups of 2 species of termites, Paraneotermes swiplicicornis (Banks) and Heterotermes aureus (Snyder), were separately confined on each of 3 or 4 wood species for 28 days at constant temperatures ranging from 16 to 36°C. Wood consumption was measured in milligrams wood consumed per group per 28 days and milligrams wood consumed per hour per gram dry-weight of termite. P. simplicicornis groups consumed more wood at all temperatures than did those of H. aureus. Wood consumption was highest at 28°C for P. simplicicornis, and at 36°C for H. aureus. Survival of P. simplicicornis decreased with increasing temperature, while it increased for H. aureus. When corrected for survival, consumption measured as milligrams wood consumed per hour per gram dry-weight of termite, for both species, gave a quadratic regression with temperature within the range of 16-36°C. The order of increasing or decreasing consumption of wood species, for either termite, varies with the method of measurement. Hourly rates of wood consumption based on unit dry-weights of termite, and expressed as a function of temperature, provide realistic expressions needed in computer models for the longterm prediction of wood removal from an ecosystem, as well as an absolute basis for interspecific comparisons.

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