The presence of biofertilizers can affect the life and movement of subterranean organisms in the soil. In the current study, the effect of three biofertilizers (Unigrow, Rhizogold and Rhizogold Plus) alone and in combination with diatomaceous earth (DE) and insecticides on mortality and movement of subterranean termites, Coptotermes heimi (Wasmann), was investigated under laboratory conditions. The mortality of termites in soil mixed with biofertilizers was low as compared to the control treatment, which led to significant mortality. Length of galleries formed by termites with the addition of Unigrow in the soil was significantly higher as compared to the other two biofertilizers and control treatments. Mortality increased in the presence of insecticides and DE in the soil substrate. Unigrow mixed soil having chlorfenapyr had maximum mortality and minimum gallery length followed by Rhizogold and Rhizogold Plus. The addition of DE and insecticide further enhances mortality, and we recommend that some toxic elements should be incorporated in biofertilizers to control subterranean termites.

Hosts face mortality from parasitic and environmental stressors, but interactions of parasitism with other stressors are not well understood, particularly for long-lived hosts. We monitored survival of flour beetles (Tribolium confusum) in a longitudinal design incorporating cestode (Hymenolepis diminuta) infection, starvation and exposure to the pesticide diatomaceous earth (DE). We found that cestode cysticercoids exhibit increasing morphological damage and decreasing ability to excyst over time, but were never eliminated from the host. In the presence of even mild environmental stressors, host lifespan was reduced sufficiently that extensive degradation of cysticercoids was never realized. Median host lifespan was 200 days in the absence of stressors, and 3–197 days with parasitism, starvation and/or DE. Early survival of parasitized hosts was higher relative to controls in the presence of intermediate concentrations of DE, but reduced under all other conditions tested. Parasitism increased host mortality in the presence of other stressors at times when parasitism alone did not cause mortality, consistent with an interpretation of synergy. Environmental stressors modified the parasite numbers needed to reveal intensity-dependent host mortality, but only rarely masked intensity dependence. The longitudinal approach produced observations that would have been overlooked or misinterpreted if survival had only been monitored at a single time point.

The penetration of adult Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky through maize grain bulks (0.75 m deep), treated with Protect-It®, a diatomaceous earth (DE) at 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2% (w/w), was determined 12 weeks after weevils were released at the upper surface of the grain. Maize was stored in columns in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, under controlled conditions of 26±2°C and 70±10% RH. Grain samples were collected from various pre-determined depths and the numbers of S. zeamais adults counted. Differences in insect numbers between treatments and at different depths from which samples were collected were highly significant (P<0.001). The bottom 2–3 layers (0.65–0.75 m deep) had significantly more insects than the upper layers for all the DE concentrations. No significant differences in total insect numbers (live+dead) were found between the DE concentrations. Dead S. zeamais weevils were found at the bottom of grain treated with Protect-It®, indicating that insects can penetrate through DE-treated grain 0.75 m deep but then subsequently die. There was no strong evidence that DEs admixed with bulk grain restrict S. zeamais movement within the grain.