SPATIAL ASPECTS OF FORMOSAN SUBTERRANEAN TERMITE, COPTOTERMES FORMOSANUS (ISOPTERA: RHINOTERMITIDAE) ECOLOGY IN AN URBAN CENTER

Abstract:
The French Quarter of New Orleans is the site for a new national campaign against the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus, an exotic species that now infests 13 states. The campaign includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, and the New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board. The goal is to reduce C. formosanus numbers and colonies. Along with that should come a marked reduction in the $1 billion per year cost in property damage, repairs and control measures. A geographical information system was developed to monitor insecticidal treatments, flight and foraging activity of C. formosanus within a 15 city block area of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Sticky traps for monitoring flight activity were systematically placed within the study site. Spatially explicit data, such as building and vegetation patterns, concerning C. formosanus were collected from the study area. These data on insect distribution and abundance as well as environmental factors are being used to determine conditions that influence termite abundance and distribution in urban areas. Future development of a hazard rating system, based on preferred environmental factors, will be used to predict areas at risk for C. formosanus.