First outdoor records in the Old World of the invasive drywood termite, Cryptotermes brevis (Walker, 1853) (Kalotermitidae)

J Appl En omol. 2023;147:875–877. | 875wileyonlinelib a y.com/jou nal/jen 1 | INTRODUCTION C yp o e mes b e is (Walke , 1853) (Kalo e mi idae), commonly called he Wes Indian d ywood e mi e, is an impo an s uc u al pes in many pa s o he wo ld. Al hough o iginally desc ibed om Jamaica, his species appea s o be na i e o he coas al dese s o Pe u and Chile, he only a ea whe e i is known o commonly occu ou doo s in dead wood o bo h li ing and dead ees in ipa ian and i iga ed ag icul u al habi a s (Sche ahn e al., 2009). Like o he in- asi e e mi e species, C. b e is li es and consumes dead wood and is capable o p oducing seconda y ep oduc i es (E ans e al., 2013). These abili ies ha e allowed C. b e is o sp ead wo ldwide, hidden inside p oduc s such as u ni u e, wooden c a es and building wood (Sche ahn e al., 2009). In ac , C. b e is can h i e inside d y wood wi hou any ou side sou ce o mois u e. C yp o e mes b e is is cu en ly widesp ead in he New Wo ld opics and sub opics, om he sou h- eas e n USA o A gen ina (Sche ahn e al., 2009). I is also known om many islands in he A lan ic, Paci ic and Indian Oceans and om se e al A ican coun- ies (Sche ahn e al., 2009), bu indoo s only. In No h A ica, C. b e is is known only om no he n Egyp . C yp o e mes b e is and o he d ywood e mi es ha e become eco- nomically impo an pes species, in e ms bo h o he damage hey cause and he cos o ex e mina ing hem. I s in es a ions can be eno - mous. Fo example, in Ang a do He oísmo, Po ugal, a ci y classi ied by UNESCO as a Wo ld He i age Si e, C. b e is in es ed mo e han 40% o he buildings (Gue ei o e al., 2014). Globally, d ywood e mi es accoun o a leas 20% o he es ima ed US$40 billion spen annu- ally o epai and e mi e con ol (Rus & Su, 2012) no ably in he USA, Sou h Ame ica, Sou h A ica, Aus alia and se e al o he egions Recei ed: 3 Ap il 2023 | Re ised: 5 June 2023 | Accep ed: 6 June 2023 DOI: 10.1111/jen.13156 SHORT COMMUNICATION Fi s ou doo eco ds in he Old Wo ld o he in asi e d ywood e mi e, C yp o e mes b e is (Walke , 1853) (Kalo e mi idae) Aya Najja i1 | Ahmed Tahe i1 | Da id He nández- Teixido 2 | James K. We e e 3 1Labo a o y o Plan Bio echnology, Ecology and Ecosys em Valo iza ion, Facul y o Sciences o El Jadida, Chouaïb Doukkali Uni e si y, El Jadida, Mo occo 2Island Ecology and E olu ion Resea ch G oup, Ins i u o de P oduc os Na u ales y Ag obiología (IPNA- CSIC), Tene i e, Spain 3Wilkes Hono s College, Flo ida A lan ic Uni e si y, Jupi e , Flo ida, USA Co espondence Da id He nández- Teixido , Island Ecology and E olu ion Resea ch G oup, Ins i u o de P oduc os Na u ales y Ag obiología (IPNA- CSIC), Tene i e, Spain. Email: [email p o ec ed]sic.es Abs ac C yp o e mes b e is (Walke , 1853) (Kalo e mi idae), commonly called he Wes Indian d ywood e mi e, is an impo an s uc u al pes in many pa s o he wo ld. Almos all eco ds o C. b e is come om imbe o u ni u e inside human s uc u es. Al hough o iginally desc ibed o Jamaica, his species appea s o be na i e o he coas al dese a ea o Pe u and Chile, whe e i commonly occu s ou doo s in he dead wood o bo h li ing and dead ees in ipa ian habi a s and i iga ed ag icul u al a eas. He e, we epo ou doo eco ds o C. b e is om an ag icul u al habi a a he wes e n edge o he Saha a Dese , an a ea clima ically simila o hei na i e ange in Sou h Ame ica. This cons i u es he i s ou doo epo o he in asi e e mi e in he Old Wo ld. In Dakhla, Mo occan Saha a, we ound hese e mi es li ing in he dead wood o a B azilian peppe ee (Schinus e ebin hi olia Raddi) and he hollow s ems o gian eeds (A undo donax L.). In No h A ica, C. b e is is o he wise known only om s uc u al imbe s in no he n Egyp . Whe he his e mi e become a signi ican pes in No h A ica emains o be seen. KEYWORDS biological in asion, d ylands, Isop e a, Mo occo, non- na i e species, No h- wes A ica This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion-NonComme cial-NoDe i s License, which pe mi s use and dis ibu ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed, he use is non-comme cial and no modi ica ions o adap a ions a e made. © 2023 The Au ho s. Jou nal o Applied En omology published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. 876 | NAJJARI e al. (Gue ei o e al., 2014). In he USA, nea ly all s uc u al umiga ion in Flo ida and Hawaii is o C. b e is con ol, accoun ing o ~$140 and ~ $30 million wo h in ea men cos s, espec i ely (Go don e al., 2021). He e, we epo he i s ou doo eco ds o C. b e is om he No h- wes A ican coas , among he ew epo ed wo ldwide. 2 | MATERIALS AND METHODS In Sep embe 2022, we su eyed e mi es and an s a si es along he A lan ic coas line o No h- wes A ica. Specimens we e iden i ied ol- lowing Bacchus (1987). We deposi ed ouche specimens in he pe sonal collec ion o he i s au ho (AN) and in he aunis ic collec ion a he Facul y o Sciences, El Jadida, Mo occo, unde he esponsibili y o AT. 3 | RESULTS Two colonies o C. b e is we e ound in a hedge su ounding ag icul- u al ields in Dakhla, Mo occan Saha a (23.771°N, 15.921°W). One colony was li ing in he dead wood o a B azilian peppe ee (Schinus e ebin hi olia Raddi), and a second was in he hollow s ems o gian eeds (A undo donax L.) (Figu e 1). 4 | DISCUSSION Ou s is he i s Old Wo ld eco d o C yp o e mes b e is epo ed nes ing ou doo s, a om human habi a ion. Almos all eco ds o C. b e is a ound he wo ld come om wooden ma e ials. Sche ahn e al. (2009) w o e ha su eys om he Ca ibbean egion ‘yielded only C. b e is om s uc u al lumbe o u ni u e ha was p o ec ed om p ecipi a ion o o he sou ces o ee wa e and om ho di ec sunshine’. Sche ahn e al. (2009) collec ed C. b e is on only ou occasions om ou doo coloniza ions: Oahu, Hawaii (Acacia limbs in a li o al o es some 100 m om he nea es s uc u al imbe ), Key Wes , Flo ida ( om a dead Ligus um sp. immedia ely adjacen o a C. b e is- in es ed dwelling), El Zamo ano, Hondu as (on he campus o Zamo ano Ag ic. Uni e si y in d y logs se e al hund ed me e s om buildings which had e y high C. b e is popula ions) and Valpa aíso and Copiapó, Chile (cul i a ed g ape s em wood). Howe e , he e a e ex ensi e ou doo eco ds o his species om he dead wood o bo h li ing and dead ees in ipa ian and i iga ed ag icul u al habi a s o i s na i e dese a eas in coas al Pe u and Chile. I seems likely ha , in addi ion o ou doo popula ions in Dakhla i sel , he e a e also C. b e is colonies nes ing in s uc u al wood o u ni u e in he a ea. G ea e sampling e o in he egion would be use ul o de e mine he a ea C. b e is occupies nea by Figu e 2. The dese clima e o Dakhla (Köppen- Geige clima e classi ica- ion = BWh; a e age annual empe a u e = 20.7°C; a e age mon hly empe a u e = 17.4°C– 24.4°C; annual ain all = 28 mm) is simila o ha o he endemic Sou h Ame ican ange o C. b e is (e.g. Lima, Pe u: BWh, 18.9°C, 16.6°C– 22.1°C; 203 mm. Copiapó, Chile: BWh, 18.5°C, 14.3°C– 21.6°C; 31 mm) (Clima e Da a, 2023). Sche ahn e al. (2009) es ima ed ha he op imum empe a u e– dew poin (TDP) a io o his e mi e is ~1.4– 2.2; Dakhla (1.53) alls wi hin his ange. The cli- ma ic condi ions in mos o coas al No h A ica appea sui able o C. b e is o become es ablished (Buczkowski & Be elsmeie , 2017; Gue ei o e al., 2014); howe e , i is known only om Egyp (Figu e 1). I he e o e seems likely ha he e a e al eady o he popula ions o his e mi e in he egion. In addi ion, Buczkowski and Be elsmeie (2017) es ima ed ha he e will be a 7.5% inc ease in he po en ial ange size o his species due o clima e change. I should be no ed ha in he same loca ion, we de ec ed se e al colonies o in asi e an species such as Pheidole megacephala and Te amo ium calda ium. Al eady documen ed in Mo occo, hese wo species a e apidly expanding in FIGURE 1 Known wo ldwide eco ds o C yp o e mes b e is. G een = published ou doo eco ds; ed = published indoo o unspeci ied eco ds; blue = p esen s udy (modi ied om Sche ahn e al., 2009). [Colou igu e can be iewed a wileyonlinelib a y.com] 14390418, 2023, 9, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jen.13156 by Readcube (Lab i a Inc.), Wiley Online Lib a y on [10/01/2024]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License | 877 NAJJARI e al. ange (Tahe i & Reyes- López, 2018) and appea o be well adap ed o dese condi ions like hose in Dakhla. Es ablishmen o C. b e is indoo s in Wes A ica could be he esul o ea ly ansa lan ic com- me ce be ween Eu ope, A ica and he Ca ibbean be ween he 16 h and 19 h cen u ies (Sche ahn e al., 2009). Indeed, expansion om Wes A ica o mo e ecen in oduc ions om he Cana y Islands o Eu ope may be he sou ce o he Dakhla popula ions. Gene ic analyses a e necessa y o cla i y hei o igin. Whe he his e mi e will become a pes in No h A ica s ill emains o be seen. Fu he sampling in he wes e n Saha a egion would be use ul o de e mine he cu en dis i- bu ion and in es a ion le els o C. b e is and o e alua e wha con ol ac ions may be wa an ed. AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS Aya Najja i: W i ing – e iew and edi ing; in es iga ion; w i ing – o iginal d a . Ahmed Tahe i: W i ing – e iew and edi ing; in es iga ion; supe ision. Da id He nández- Teixido : Valida ion; me hodology; w i ing – o iginal d a ; w i ing – e iew and edi ing; concep ualiza- ion. James K. We e e : W i ing – e iew and edi ing; in es iga ion. ACKNO WLE DGE MENTS We hank he Na ional Agency o Wa e and Fo es s o he Kingdom o Mo occo o p o iding ou collec ion pe mi (N° 16/22). DHT is cu en ly unded by he Cabildo de Tene i e, unde he TF Inno a P og am, suppo ed by Ma co Es a égico de Desa ollo Insula (MEDI) and Fondo de Desa ollo de Cana ias (FDCAN). CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT The au ho s decla e hey ha e no con lic s o in e es . DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Da a sha ing no applicable o his a icle as no da ase s we e gene - a ed o analysed du ing he cu en s udy. ORCID Aya Najja i h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-5336-4364 Ahmed Tahe i h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0001-7402-525X Da id He nández- Teixido h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0003-3114-7892 James K. We e e h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-8914-8073 REFERENCES Bacchus, S. (1987). A axonomic and biome ic s udy o he genus C yp o e mes (Isop e a: Kalo e mi idae). T opical Pes Bulle in, 7, 1– 91. Buczkowski, G., & Be elsmeie , C. (2017). In asi e e mi es in a changing clima e: A global pe spec i e. Ecology and E olu ion, 7(3), 974– 985. h ps://doi.o g/10.1002/ece3.2674 Clima e Da a. (2023). 2023 Clima e Da a o ci ies wo ldwide. Re ie ed om h ps://en.clima e-da a.o g/ E ans, T. A., Fo schle , B. T., & G ace, J. K. (2013). Biology o in asi e e - mi es: A wo ldwide e iew. Annual Re iew o En omology, 58, 455– 474. h ps://doi.o g/10.1146/annu e -en o-120811-153554 Go don, J. M., Sche ahn, R. H., & Su, N. Y. (2021). Wes Indian D ywood e - mi e C yp o e mes b e is (Walke ) (Insec a: Isop e a: Kalo e mi idae). EDIS, 2, 7. h ps://doi.o g/10.32473/ edis-in236-2020 Gue ei o, O., Ca doso, P., Fe ei a, J. M., Fe ei a, M. T., & Bo ges, P. A. (2014). Po en ial dis ibu ion and cos es ima ion o he damage caused by C yp o e mes b e is (Isop e a: Kalo e mi idae) in he Azo es. Jou nal o Economic En omology, 107(4), 1554– 1562. h ps:// doi.o g/10.1603/EC13501 Rus , M. K., & Su, N. Y. (2012). Managing social insec s o u ban impo - ance. Annual Re iew o En omology, 57(1), 355– 375. h ps://doi. o g/10.1146/annu e -en o-120710-100634 Sche ahn, R. H., Křeček, J., Ripa, R., & Luppichini, P. (2009). Endemic o igin and as an h opogenic dispe sal o he wes Indian d ywood e mi e. Biological In asions, 11, 787– 799. h ps://doi.o g/10.1007/ s10530-008-9293-3 Tahe i, A., & Reyes- López, J. (2018). Exo ic an s (hymenop e a: Fo micidae) in Mo occo: Checklis , commen s and new Faunis ic Da a. T ansac ions o he Ame ican En omological Socie y, 144(1), 99– 107. How o ci e his a icle: Najja i, A., Tahe i, A., He nández- Teixido , D., & We e e , J. K. (2023). Fi s ou doo eco ds in he Old Wo ld o he in asi e d ywood e mi e, C yp o e mes b e is (Walke , 1853) (Kalo e mi idae). Jou nal o Applied En omology, 147, 875–877. h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/jen.13156 FIGURE 2 C yp o e mes b e is soldie collec ed in Dakhla, Mo occo. (a): Do sal iew. (b): Ta si; No e he absence o he a olium be ween a sal claws. (c): Soldie head capsule. [Colou igu e can be iewed a wileyonlinelib a y.com] 14390418, 2023, 9, Downloaded om h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jen.13156 by Readcube (Lab i a Inc.), Wiley Online Lib a y on [10/01/2024]. See he Te ms and Condi ions (h ps://onlinelib a y.wiley.com/ e ms-and-condi ions) on Wiley Online Lib a y o ules o use; OA a icles a e go e ned by he applicable C ea i e Commons License