An egg mass with invasive adult thermites Coptotermes gestroi species
T Chouovenc, UF/IFAS
Florida’s newest term is two for the price of someone, but no one celebrates. Two types of global invasive creates hybrid colonies that can produce incredibly resistant termitations that threaten wooden chewing insects, buildings and forests.
The findings say “interesting and worrying” Edouard duquesne He is not interested in research at Brussels Özgür University in Belgium. “The applicable hybrids of these two species will probably lead to a super -invasive thermite that can have a large range of worldwide and cause significant damages.”
As of 2010, Termit Pests 40 billion dollars In global damage every year, approximately 80 percent of this cost comes from underground terminals. Koptoterms. Formosan Underground Termiti (Coptotermes formosanus) Occupied most of the warm temperate areas of the northern hemisphere. Related Asian Underground Termiti (Koptoterms Gestro) It has spread from Southeast Asia in tropical regions of the world. Two species have been overlapping in Southern Florida since the late 1990s, he says Thomas Chouovenc At the University of Florida.
In 2015, Chouveng and colleagues successfully two species Produce hybrid baby In the laboratory. In 2021, Chouvenec found Alates, whose appearance was Formosan and the smaller, darker Asian species, and the poultry that started new ones. They were detected in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and genetic analyzes then confirmed them as hybrids. The team also discovered a hybrid home in a local park next to a marina.
In 2024, Wild hybrids were approved By the researchers in Taiwan, where two species have overlap. Termites are now located in Southern Florida.
“No matter where the two species are together, it is just a matter of time to have a chance to hybridize and establish hybrid populations, Christ says Chouvel.
Researchers also found that first -generation hybrid women can match their parents’ men and form colonies. Chouvenc is worried that if genes can flow between species, the result may be an equally destructive termit population that can develop under a wider environmental conditions such as temperature. The fact that the termites are located near extremely dense ports increases the likelihood of such hybrids to infiltrate and spread globally.
“[Humans] He allowed the spread of these thermites because we didn’t really pay attention, Ch says Chouveng. “ Now we pay for it. “
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