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

Abstract

Cryptotermes brevis (Walker, 1853) (Kalotermitidae), commonly called the West Indian drywood termite, is an important structural pest in many parts of the world. Almost all records of C. brevis come from timber or furniture inside human structures. Although originally described for Jamaica, this species appears to be native to the coastal desert area of Peru and Chile, where it commonly occurs outdoors in the dead wood of both living and dead trees in riparian habitats and irrigated agricultural areas. Here, we report outdoor records of C. brevis from an agricultural habitat at the western edge of the Sahara Desert, an area climatically similar to their native range in South America. This constitutes the first outdoor report of the invasive termite in the Old World. In Dakhla, Moroccan Sahara, we found these termites living in the dead wood of a Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi) and the hollow stems of giant reeds (Arundo donax L.). In North Africa, C. brevis is otherwise known only from structural timbers in northern Egypt. Whether this termite become a significant pest in North Africa remains to be seen.