Study of the taxonomy and biology of Coptotermes Wasmann, 1896 (Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) in the Americas.

Author(s)

Marisa Vianna Ferraz

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Biociências (IBIOC/SB)
• Defense date: 2000-11-30

Examining board members

Eliana Marques Cancello; Carlos Roberto Ferreira Brandao; Divino Brandão; Antonio Tadeu de Lelis; Sergio Antonio Vanin

• Advisor: Eliana Marques Cancello

Abstract

Coptotermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) is a genus economically important, responsible for most of the damage to wood in southeastern Brazil. No taxonomic study on American species is available, and so far only five species have been described in the Americas. Coptotermes has a pantropical distribution, with approximately 80 species described worldwide. Taxonomic reviews for this genus are scarse and the identification of species of this diversified group is often difficult. This work is a taxonomic study of the genus Coptotermes in the Americas. In addition to the five described species, C. havilandi, C. formosanus, C. testaceus, C. crassus and C. niger, I describe thirteen new taxa that are presented as new species. Together with the descriptions of species I include morphometric data, schematic drawings, scanning electron microscopy pictures, maps of the distribution of each species and an identification key for all species except C. niger, for which I could not examine the types neither identify samples with certainty. Therefore, I chose rather to retain the name and description given by SNYDER (1922), although I cannot show that it is actually a good species. Despite the high number of samples analyzed (730) representative data from big geographical areas, especially north and northeastern Brazil and the other countries of South America are still lacking. More extensive collects in these areas potentially can double the number of the known Coptotermes species in the Americas. I focused on the study of C. havilandi, which is the main pest of wood in southeastern Brazil. The biology of incipient colonies has been studied, recording post-swarming behavior, nest choice, survival rate of colonies, duration of pre-oviposition, incubation time for eggs, each instar’s duration, death rate between worker instars, moulting and proportion of soldiers, number and viability of individuals per colony, and rejection from reproductive chambers by the reproductives. The study of the biology shows the high plasticity of C. havilandi to founding colonies in different types of substrates, including some considered as poorly suitable and some lacking contact with the soil. The study of the phenology of swarms in São Paulo city reveals the seasonality and timing of swarms, as well as the sexual ratio of alates. The capacity to produce sporadic dispersal flights (i.e. out of the peak period from August to October) almost year round and during a large part of the day demonstrate the high plasticity of C. havilandi in its dispersal habit and high reproductive capacity. Finally, I describe the nest of C. havilandi, showing a similar pattern to previous descriptions for this and other species of the genus. (AU)