Sains Malaysiana 44(2)(2015): 211–216

Define Colony Number of Subterranean Termites Coptotermes gestroi(Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Selected Infested Structures

(Penetapan Jumlah Koloni Anai-Anai Bawah Tanah Coptotermes gestroi(Isoptera:Rhinotermitidae)

yang Menyerang Struktur Bangunan Terpilih)

ABDUL HAFIZ AB MAJID* & ABU HASSAN AHMAD

Household & Structural Urban Entomology Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences,

Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia

Received: 14 November 2013/Accepted: 4 August 2014

ABSTRACT

Termites are one of the social insects living in large colonies that can cause economic loss. The objective of this study was to estimate foraging territory of infested subterranean termites on building structure. A mark-recapture study was conducted on eight Coptotermes gestroi colonies located at selected infested building structures in Penang, Malaysia. From the foraging study, the population of C. gestroi was estimated to be within the range of 106,592±6,968 to 4,185,000±2,127,328. Additionally, the foraging territory was from 13 to 300 m2 of the infested building structures. Meanwhile the maximum foraging distance was from 4 to 30 m of the infested structures. The results indicated that each of the building structures was infested by a single colony. This study also showed that the triple mark recapture technique used to estimate the population size of the termite colony was capable of providing rough estimates of foraging population of C. gestroi.

Keywords: Coptotermes gestroi; foraging distance; foraging population; foraging territories; triple mark recapture

ABSTRAK

Anai-anai adalah salah suatu serangga sosial yang hidup di dalam koloni besar yang boleh menyebabkan kerugian ekonomi. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk menganggarkan wilayah keluasan mencari makanan anai-anai bawah tanah pada struktur bangunan. Suatu kajian tanda tangkap dan lepas semula telah dijalankan ke atas lapan koloni Coptotermes gestroi yang menyerang bangunan terpilih di Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Daripada kajian mencari makanan, populasiC. gestroi telah dianggarkan antara 106,592±6,968 dan 4,185,000±2,127,328. Selain itu, wilayah mencari makanan adalah dari 13 hingga 300 m2. Sementara itu, jarak maksimum linear mencari makanan adalah dari 4 hingga 30 m. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan bahawa setiap struktur bangunan telah diserang oleh satu populasi anai-anai. Kajian ini juga menunjukkan bahawa tangkap-tanda dan lepas sebanyak tiga kali yang digunakan untuk membuat anggaran saiz koloni anai-anai mampu menyediakan anggaran kasar populasi mencari makanan oleh C. gestroi.

Kata kunci: Coptotermes gestroi; jarak mencari makanan; keluasan mencari makanan; saiz populasi; tangkap tiga kali bertanda

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*Corresponding author; email: abdhafiz@usm.my