Survey and Ecological Studies of the Termites (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) of Mona Island

Abstract

A survey of eight sites on Mona Island revealed four termite species in the family Kalotermitidae: Incisitermes nr. bequaerti (Snyder), I. nr. incisus (Silvestri), Neotermes mona (Banks), and Procryptotermes corniceps (Snyder). Incisitermes nr. bequaerti is a new record for the island. Identifiable wood hosts are reported. All species were found in dead wood, which is typical of drywood termites, but N. mona and P. corniceps were also collected from live wood. Examination of dead wood in three 9.3 m2 plots in a dense stand of Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit. revealed that an average of approximately three-quarters of the wood pieces were attacked by termites. Although the total volume of dead wood was almost six times greater in Plot 1 than in the other two plots, the number of termites per unit volume of dead wood was very similar (0.4 per cm3). Total numbers of individuals per colony ranged from 11 to 3,359 termites. Caste composition is reported for each colony, and large variations among colonies were noted. Alates as well as eggs were more common in larger colonies. Soldier percentages ranged from 0.7% to 20.5% in 16 P. corniceps colonies. The largest colonies occurred when the greatest volume of dead wood was available.