Have Researchers Discovered The Majority Of Termites That Exist On Earth, And Will US Citizens Be Affected By New Termite Species?

In the year 2000, researchers had documented a total of 2,300 termite species in the world. Of these 2,300 species, 183 were known to cause damage to buildings, but only 83 species were considered to be serious termite pests to buildings. As of June 2017, only 17 years later, almost 3000 termite species had been documented, and today, the number of documented termite species exceeds this figure. Considering the vast increase of termite species that have been documented over the course of 19 short years, it goes without saying the number of termite species that are known to be pests to buildings has also increased well beyond the 183 that had been documented nearly 20 years ago. Also, these 183 termite pest-species discluded agricultural or environmentally damaging termite pest-species, as well as the drywood and dampwood species that damage isolated pieces of wood, such as the wood used to build furniture items or the firewood within peoples homes.

It may not be surprising to learn that experts expect to document many additional termite species in the years, or even months to come. These many undocumented species will be of interest to officials in the United States, as most undocumented termite species are believed to exist within South America and the Caribbean, which are neighbouring regions that have long been a source of economically damaging non-native termite species that have gone on to establish invasive habitats in the US.

Not long ago, researchers discovered a massive field containing millions of previously undiscovered termite nesting mounds in the Amazon rainforest. Although these mounds are now inactive, researchers in the area fully expect to find numerous undocumented termite species in the Amazon rainforest alone. Relative to other regions of the world, South American countries have not been studied extensively for the termites dwelling in the region. This could be a problem for people living in North America, as several termites that are now invasive in the US originated from South America, most notably the C. brevis species from Chile. Many non-native termite species introduced into the US from South America die, as they are only suited to surviving within hot tropical areas. However, experts worry that rising global temperatures will eventually allow non-native termites from the tropics to survive within locations in the southeast US and beyond.

Do you think that the annual cost of termite control will increase substantially in the US in the future?