coconut termite

Leonard Sigrah sent me images of a coconut palm killed by termites on Kosrae. Later on, I received termite specimens in alcohol. Species determination will require a taxonomic expert.

Possibly, this is Neotermes rainbowi. See http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org/species.asp?id=7549. Feeding damage marks on the trunk shown clearly in one of the images lead credence to this SWAG. Compare with images of Neotermes rainbowi bark damage here and a description here.

On August 6, I received a second sample from Kosrae. A couple of soldiers were included in this sample.


Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith