''Heterotermes indicola'', is a species of subterranean

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

of the genus ''

Heterotermes ''Heterotermes'' is a genus of termites belonging to the family Rhinotermitidae Rhinotermitidae is a family of termites (Isoptera). They feed on wood and can cause extensive damage to buildings or other wooden structures. About 345 species are ...

''. It is native to tropical

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

but has extended its range into the subtropics and warm temperate areas of the Himalayan foothills to altitudes of about . It causes damage to timber in buildings and is one of the most destructive termites in urban and agricultural areas in the world. Soldiers are about 4.1-4.9mm long. Extracts of

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

and '' Calotropis procera'' are known to have termiticidal effects on ''H. indicola''.

Ecology

Subterranean termites live in colonies underground, with no mounds or above-ground structures to indicate that they are present.

Sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

can be severely attacked causing 90 to 100% damage, fruit orchards 80 to 90% damage, maize 45% damage and wheat 10 to 12% damage. Another crop attacked by this termite is the bitter melon (''

Momordica charantia ''Momordica charantia'' (commonly called bitter melon; Goya; bitter apple; bitter gourd; bitter squash; balsam-pear; with many more names listed below) is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Afr ...

''). This termite favours a soil moisture content of 20 to 30%, and a timber moisture content of 80 to 100%. These termites are known to attack and feed on many economically important species on a large scale, reducing their yield. Trees and woody plants attacked include: *'' Abies pindrow'' *''

Acacia arabica ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Mi ...

'' *''

Albizzia lebbeck ''Albizia lebbeck'' is a species of ''Albizia'', native to Indomalaya, New Guinea and Northern AustraliaUSDA (1994) and widely cultivated and naturalised in other tropical and subtropical regions. English names for it include Sirisa, Siris, lebbe ...

'' *'' Alstonia scholaris '' *''

Azadirachta indica ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afri ...

'' *''

Betula utilis ''Betula utilis'', the Himalayan birch (''bhojpatra'', sa, भूर्ज ''bhūrjá''), is a deciduous tree native to the Western Himalayas, growing at elevations up to . The Latin specific epithet ''utilis'' means "useful", and refers to the ...

'' *''

Camellia sinensis ''Camellia sinensis'' is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce the popular beverage, tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree (not to ...

'' *'' Cedrus deodara'' *'' Cordia oblique'' *''

Dalbergia sissoo ''Dalbergia sissoo'', known commonly as North Indian rosewood or ''shisham'', is a fast-growing, hardy, deciduous rosewood tree native to the Indian subcontinent and southern Iran. ''D. sissoo'' is a large, crooked tree with long, leathery leav ...

'' *'' Ehretia serrate'' *'' Erythrina suberosa'' *''

Eucalyptus citriodora ''Corymbia citriodora'', commonly known as lemon-scented gum and other common names, is a species of tall tree that is endemic to north-eastern Australia. It has smooth white to pink bark, narrow lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds ...

'' *''

Ficus religiosa ''Ficus religiosa'' or sacred fig is a species of Ficus, fig native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina that belongs to Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family. It is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree, pipa ...

'' *''

Heterophragma adenophyllum ''Heterophragma'' is a genus of two species of tree, constituting part of the plant family Bignoniaceae. The species are found in Southeast Asia and India. Naming and classification ''Heterophragma'' is part of the Palaeotropical Clade of the B ...

'' *'' Mangifera indica'' *''

Melia azedarach ''Melia azedarach'', commonly known as the chinaberry tree, pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native ...

'' *''

'' *'' Moringa oleifera'' *'' Morus'' spp. *'' Pinus wallichiana'' *'' Pinus roxberghii'' *''

Populus deltoides ''Populus deltoides'', the eastern cottonwood or necklace poplar, is a Populus sect. Aigeiros, cottonwood Populus, poplar native to North America, growing throughout the eastern, central, and southwestern United States as well as the southern Ca ...

'' *''

Putranjiva roxburghii ''Putranjiva'' is a plant genus of the family Putranjivaceae, first described as a genus in 1826. It is native to Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Japan, southern China, and New Guinea. Along with ''Drypetes'' (of the same family), it c ...

'' *''

Syzygium cumini ''Syzygium cumini'', commonly known as Malabar plum, Java plum, black plum, jamun, jaman, jambul, or jambolan, is an evergreen tropical tree in the flowering plant family Myrtaceae, and favored for its fruit, timber, and ornamental value. It is ...

'' *'' Terminalia arjuna'' *''

Ziziphus jujuba Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus ''Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. Description It is a small ...

Structural damage

This subterranean termite causes extensive damage in houses to wooden structures, as well as feeding on paper, cloth and other cellulose-containing products. It gains entry to buildings through timber in contact with the ground, creating galleries along the grain of the wood. It hollows out the timber, leaving a thin external layer intact and plastering the interior surfaces with excreta. It also creates mud tunnels along surfaces, and sometimes creates hanging, stub tunnels, a particular characteristic of this species. Timber buildings can be badly affected by this termite, and in the 1940s, the small town of

Sri Hargobindpur Sri Hargobindpur is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district in the Indian state of Punjab. Situated on the banks of the Beas River Sixth Guru of Sikhs Shri Guru Hargobind Sahib ji established this city on the land bought by his Fathe ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

had to be abandoned because of the destruction wreaked by this species.

References

External links