Planar Arenas for use in Laboratory Bioassay Studies of Subterranean Termites (Rhinotermitidae)
Abstract
Reliance on use of the Petri dish for bioassay studies has resulted in the majority of subterranean termite research being conducted in a manner that has not taken into account one of the most important feature of subterranean termites ecology: the soil in which they live. This artificial environment for bioassays, favored for its ease of use, may have resulted in accumulation of data about termite physiology, toxicology, pathology and behavior with limited biological relevancy. Caution should be taken when drawing conclusion from such experiments, because recent studies that made use of planar arenas (or ‘two-dimensional arenas’), which provided soil-foraging conditions for termites and visibility for observation, have produced findings that are either contradictory to or more complete than corresponding Petri dish studies. The result of this study showed that groups of termites kept in planar arenas had better vigor and survivorship after 60 d than groups kept in Petri dishes. We also describe a list of technical advantages that the use of planar arenas can provide over the use of Petri dishes, and suggest that entomologists planning future laboratory studies on subterranean termites should consider using a similar protocol that involves planar arenas.Al depender en el uso de platos Petri para realizar estudios de bioensayo ha resultado en que la mayoría de las investigaciones de termitas subterráneas no toman en cuenta la característica más importante de la ecología de las termitas: el suelo en que viven. Este ambiente artificial para los bioensayos, favorecido por su facilidad de uso, puede tener como resultado la acumulación de datos sobre la fisiología, toxicología, patología y comportamiento de las termitas que son de relevancia biológica limitada. Se debe tener precaución en sacar conclusiones de estos experimentos, ya que estudios recientes que se hicieron utilzando arenas planas (o de arenas cerca de dos dimensiones), que proveen condiciones para que las termitas forajen en el suelo y la visibilidad para observarlas, han producido resultados que son contradictorios o más completos que los estudios correspondientes utilizando platos Petri. El resultado de este estudio mostro que los grupos de termitas mantenidos en “arenas planas” tuvieron mas vigor y supervivencia a los 60 dias que los grupos mantenidos en platos Petri. También se incluye una lista de las ventajas técnicas que el uso de “arenas planas” pueden proveer sobre el uso de platos Petri, y sugieren que los entomólogos que planean estudios de laboratorio sobre las termitas subterráneas en el futuro deben considerar el uso de un protocolo similar que involucra a las “arenas planas”.
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