Termite Control >>
Termite Alates Succumb to Biopesticide POSTED: May 27, 2007 2:47 pm  The formidable Formosan subterranean termite costs U.S. consumers hundreds of millions of dollars each year in control and repair bills. Usually, control efforts focus on eliminating worker termites in colonies, not on preventing formation of new colonies. Now a newly discovered strain of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae has been found to effectively curb alates, the termites' winged, adult life stage.
While a strain of Metarhizium has already been commercialized for termite control, this new isolate is especially lethal to alates killing them in only 3 days. Its fast action promises to knock down any newly winged termite alates before they can swarm and fly off to establish a new colony.
Collaborators are being sought to further develop a formulation to safely deliver the fungal spores to trees and buildings known to harbor termites before swarming's in full swing.
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