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1 August 2013 Cold Tolerance of the Eastern Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in Ontario
Matthew W. Clarke, Graham J. Thompson, Brent J. Sinclair
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Abstract

We characterized the cold tolerance of natural populations of the Eastern subterranean termite (Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) [Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae]) in southwestern Ontario, Canada. We measured cold tolerance in workers from six colonies of termites established from Pelee Island in Lake Erie, and Point Pelee National Park. The mean critical thermal minimum, at which termites entered chill coma, ranged from 8.1 to 5.7°C. Mean supercooling points (SCP, the temperature at which individuals freeze) ranged from -4 to -4.6°C, and did not differ significantly between colonies, nor was SCP dependent on body size. Individuals survived brief exposure to low temperatures, as long as they did not freeze, but internal ice formation was always lethal, suggesting a freeze avoiding strategy. The LT50 (temperature at which 50% of individuals were killed by a 1 h exposure) was -5.1°C, but all individuals could survive -2°C for at least 72 h. Low temperature acclimation (12°C, 7 d) or hardening (4°C, 2 h) had no impact on the SCP, but acclimation did slightly increase the critical thermal minimum, making the termites less cold tolerant. We conclude that R. flavipes is not particularly cold tolerant, and likely relies on burrowing deep into the soil to avoid exposure to temperature to extremes.

© 2013 Entomological Society of America
Matthew W. Clarke, Graham J. Thompson, and Brent J. Sinclair "Cold Tolerance of the Eastern Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in Ontario," Environmental Entomology 42(4), 805-810, (1 August 2013). https://doi.org/10.1603/EN12348
Received: 18 December 2012; Accepted: 1 May 2013; Published: 1 August 2013
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KEYWORDS
chill coma
freeze avoiding
social insect
supercooling point
thermal biology
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