Two exotic termites find love in Florida, worrying researchers

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MIAMI: Two particularly hungry, exotic termite species apparently have found love halfway around the world and, as with so many other Florida hookups, the results are disturbing.

Asian and Formosan subterranean termites are two of the most destructive termite species in the world, responsible for much of the estimated $40 billion (Dh147 billion) in economic losses attributed to termites annually. Their habitat ranges overlap in lush South Florida, already home to a daunting number of invasive plant and animal species thriving where they should not. Each termite invaded Florida, probably through cargo shipments, several decades ago, but experts believed the colonies didn’t mingle because their aboveground mating swarms launched in different months.

That is, until University of Florida researcher Thomas Chouvenc noticed something unusual about the termite swarms in his Fort Lauderdale neighbourhood two years ago.

The two species were flying around looking for mates at the same time — and they were giving each other that look.

The research is preliminary and leaves many questions unanswered, but the idea of a hybrid termite carrying the destructive capabilities of two invasive species worries experts.

“That’s big news,” said Matthew Messenger, an entomologist at the US Department of Agriculture. “They’re two bad ones, too.”

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