Nicotinoid and fungal disease team up to break down termites' tough defenses
The study also provides clues into termites' robust defense systems and how nicotinoids affect social insects.
A team led by Michael Scharf, the O.W. Rollins/Orkin Chair and professor of entomology, found that a sublethal dose of imidacloprid knocked out key microbes in the termite gut and suppressed the social hygiene habits that help keep a termite colony healthy. Their defenses weakened, the termites became vulnerable to a fungal pathogen that normally poses little threat. The combination of pesticide and pathogen wiped out laboratory colonies in seven days.
"A termite colony can tolerate this dose of imidacloprid and fungal pathogen independently, but put them together, and they really have deleterious effects," Scharf said. "Understanding how to cripple termite defenses could lead us to new, safer control technologies."
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