Feeding behavior of termites and crawl space environment

环境因素如温度、湿度、风力等都可能影响白蚁的取食行为。本研究以台湾乳白蚁为研究对象，探讨木材含水率与相对湿度对台湾乳白蚁取食活动与跑道建构活动的影响。结果表明：（1）在直接暴露于大气中时，相对湿度在70%左右就足以表现正常的摄食活动，而相对湿度在60%左右则是有害的。(2)如果有水供应，工人可以用含水量为10-15%的木材喂养。(3)土壤的存在促进了低相对湿度条件下工蜂的取食活动。(4)对于跑道建设来说，更高的相对湿度是必不可少的。(5)声发射（AE）监测也表明，相对湿度约70%是最好的工人从木材内部喂养。(6)实验室菌落对湿度变化的敏感性高于野外菌落，本研究首次明确了台湾拟步行虫取食活动的最适湿度条件。连同其他环境因素的持续研究结果，将有可能控制对白蚁不利的爬行空间环境。

Environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity and wind blow, probably affect the feeding behavior of termites. In this research, effects of relative humidity (RH) on feeding activity and runway-constructing activity of Coptotermes formosanus were studied in relation to the moisture content of wood. The results obtained are as follows :(1) When workers were directly exposed to atmosphere, RH of around 70% was enough to express ordinal feeding activity, whereas 60% RH was detrimental.(2) Workers could feed on wood with moisture content of 10-15% if they had water supply.(3) Existence of soil promoted the feeding activity of workers in the lower RH conditions.(4) For runway construction the higher RH was indispensable.(5) Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring also showed that RH of around 70% was best for feeding on workers from the inside wood.(6) Laboratory colonies were more sensitive against humidity changes than field colonies.This study firstly clarified the optimum humidity condition in feeding activity of workers of C.formosanus. Together with the results of on-going studies relating to the other environmental factors, it will be possible to control the crawl space environment unfavorable to termites.