Seasonal shifts in gut microbiota and cold tolerance metrics in a northern population of Reticulitermes flavipes (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae).

Eastern subterranean termites, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), are widely distributed across North America where they are exposed to a broad range of environmental conditions. However, mechanisms for overwintering are not well understood. Wisconsin is a unique location to study mechanisms of cold tolerance as it represents the northern boundary for persistent R.

Experimental Warming Reduces Survival, Cold Tolerance, and Gut Prokaryotic Diversity of the Eastern Subterranean Termite, (Kollar).

Understanding the effects of environmental disturbances on insects is crucial in predicting the impact of climate change on their distribution, abundance, and ecology. As microbial symbionts are known to play an integral role in a diversity of functions within the insect host, research examining how organisms adapt to environmental fluctuations should include their associated microbiota. In this study, subterranean termites [ (Kollar)] were exposed to three different temperature treatments characterized as low (15°C), medium (27°C), and high (35°C).

Defensive Symbioses in Social Insects Can Inform Human Health and Agriculture.

Social animals are among the most successful organisms on the planet and derive many benefits from living in groups, including facilitating the evolution of agriculture. However, living in groups increases the risk of disease transmission in social animals themselves and the cultivated crops upon which they obligately depend. Social insects offer an interesting model to compare to human societies, in terms of how insects manage disease within their societies and with their agricultural symbionts.

The role of particle size of particulate nano-zinc oxide wood preservatives on termite mortality and leach resistance.

Historically most residential wood preservatives were aqueous soluble metal formulations, but recently metals ground to submicron size and dispersed in water to give particulate formulations have gained importance. In this study, the specific role nano-zinc oxide (ZnO) particle size and leach resistance plays in termite mortality resulting from exposure to particulate ZnO-treated wood was investigated. Southern yellow pine (SYP) sapwood impregnated with three concentrations of two particle sizes (30 and 70 nm) of ZnO were compared to wood treated with soluble zinc sulphate (ZnSO4) preservative for leach resistance and termite resistance.