TUNNELING BEHAVIOR OF HETEROTERMIS INDICOLA WASMANN (ISOPTERA: RHINOTERMITIDAE) UNDER INSETICIDE TREATED CONDITIONS

Laboratory experiments were conducted at the Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan to study the tunneling behavior of Heterotermes indicolaWasmann (Isoptera: Heterotermitidae) in soil treated with five concentrations of Chlorpyrifos (400, 200, 100, 50, 25 ppm), Cadusafos(50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, 3.125 ppm) and Agenda(100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25 ppm) . Heterotermes indicola traveled longest the cumulative tunnel distance of 6.96 cm at 25 ppm of Chlorpyrifos, 11.20 cm at 3.125 ppm of Cadusafos and 9.56 cm at 6.25 ppm of Agenda treated sand. At lower concentrations toxicity of all insecticides increased with time. Heterotermes indicola traveled longer tunnel distance and made more number of tunnels at lower concentrations of all the insecticides. In control Heterotermes indicola traveled the longest cumulative distances and made longer and more tunnels than all the treatments. Agenda was slow acting among the three insecticides. The study recommends the use of Chlorpyrifos and Cadusafos for quick knockdown and Agenda for long-term controlof termite.