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Evaluation of fipronil baits against Microtermes mycophagus (Blattodea: Termitidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2015

Naeem Iqbal ,
Theodore A. Evans ,
Shafqat Saeed  and
Hafiz Azhar Ali Khan
Naeem Iqbal*
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan (60800), Pakistan Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan (32200), Pakistan
Theodore A. Evans
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, 117543 Singapore School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Perth WA 6009, Australia
Shafqat Saeed
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan (60800), Pakistan
Hafiz Azhar Ali Khan
Affiliation:
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore (54590), Pakistan
*
1 Corresponding author (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

We evaluated the efficacy of fipronil baits in suppressing or eliminating field colonies of Microtermes mycophagus (Desneux) (Blattodea: Termitidae) an important subterranean termite pest in Pakistan. We tested two doses (10 and 30 ppm) of fipronil in toilet paper baits, chosen from laboratory repellency tests. We monitored four colonies for foraging activity for one month before baiting, and mapped foraging territories with termites marked with Nile Blue A and agonistic tests. Before the fipronil baits were installed there were averages of 782–1938 workers and soldiers per bait station in the four colonies. After baiting, the colonies were eliminated as there were no workers per bait station, whereas the control colony had an average of 1142 workers per bait station. The three possibly eliminated colonies consumed around 47 mg of fipronil formulation (4.7 mg active ingredient) in 45–90 days. Our results suggest that baits containing fipronil could provide an economical and feasible alternative for the management of M. mycophagus in structures and buildings in Pakistan.

Type
Insect Management
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 148 , Issue 3 , June 2016 , pp. 343 - 352
Copyright
© Entomological Society of Canada 2015 

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Footnotes

Subject editor: Justin Schmidt

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