Abstract
C0
2 release rates were measured from groups of 10
Reticulrtermes virginicus Banks workers, soldiers, and nymphs. For workers, V
CO2 (μ·mg
-1·h
-1) 1ncreased linearly w1th temperature between 16.2- 30.4°C. V
CO2 recorded at = 20°C was 0.177 ± 0.005 μ·mg
-1·h
-1 for soldiers and 0.219 ± 0.027 μ·mg
-1·h
-1 for nymphs. Assuming a similar slope of temperature increase in V
CO2 for all castes. predicted mass-corrected CO
2 release values for grouped
R. virginicus workers, soldiers and nymphs at 23.6°C were 27, 52 and 27% lower than literature values for the same castes of
R. flavipes measured individually at that temperature. C0
2 release rate (μ·mg
-1·h
-1) for
R. virginicus nearly doubled over the 20°C to 30°C temperature range (Q
10 = 1.91 ), similar to literature values for
Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hagen) over the same range. For all temperatures except 25.2°C, CO
2 release rate (in μ·h
-1) increased significantly with mass, with coefficients ranging from 0.123 (16.2°C) to 0.599 (30.4°C).
Keywords
respiration,
CO2,
temperature,
termite,
Reticulitermes virginicus
Citation
Wagner, Terence L.; Shelton, Thomas G.; Villavaso, Eric J. 2012. CO2 Release in Groups of Reticulitermes virginicus (Isoptera:Rhinotermitidae). J. Entomol. Sci. 47(3):264-271.