The American subterranean termite found in Caldeira das Lages (Terceira)
- June 29th, 2014
- Biodiversity
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The american subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes was detected this week in Caldeira das Lages in Terceira Island.
This is the second location of this subterranean termite in Terceira Island, after a small section of the US military base at Praia da Vitória (“Bairro de Santa Rita”).
This discovery makes the eradication of Terceira virtually impossible, although it can be eventually eradicated from these places and be closely monitored in the coming decades.
Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), has been identified in several areas throughout the world, where introductions to both hemispheres have been reported. Due to its establishment capability, R. flavipes occupies the largest geographic distribution of any subterranean termite.