Termite Sex Phermones Used As A Control Agent

Besides developing new methods of termite control, Operation Full Stop scientists have also been learning more about the Formosan termite's basic biology. Entomologist Ashok Raina leads a group within the main termite research unit at SRRC. His group observed and recorded, for the first time, mating in the Formosan termite. They also discovered a contact sex pheromone in the female's tergal gland—the first time such a pheromone has been identified for any termite species.

Recently, Christopher Florane, a University of New Orleans graduate student who has been working with Raina's group, discovered new information about why termite colonies attack each other. He found that the basis of aggression was the type of wood eaten by the termites. Only when two termite colonies feed on two different types of trees do they become aggressive toward each other. Florane's abstract and presentation about his finding won a President's Prize at the Entomological Society of America's national meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in November 2002. He is currently working with Raina to determine exactly how changes in diet trigger aggression.