干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) are ubiquitous in both wooded and desert regions of North America. They are important contributors to nutrient cycling, energy flow, and ecosystem productivity. As the use of microbiological pesticides or microbial pest control agents (MPCAs) increases in the United States, termites might suffer unintended exposure to these pathogenic agents. The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires that information on the susceptibility of nontarget species be developed as a condition of registration of MPCAs, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is iii the process of drafting protocols to assess such effects. An interim protocol (drafted on behalf of EPA) to assess the lethal effects of MPCAs on nontarget subterranean termite species is described in this paper.