New Hybrid Termite Created By 2 Other Species Interbreeding In Florida

Started by stromboli, March 29, 2015, 12:26:23 AM

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stromboli

http://www.voicechronicle.com/201503-two-destructive-termites-of-florida-interbreeding-worrying-entomologists

QuoteAsian and Formosan subterranean termites, found in South Florida, are two of the most destructive termite species in the world. However, the alarming news is that these two species are now interbreeding and their offspring is a “super termite,” which is even worse than its parents. This is another indication that the climate change is going to affect us in horrible ways. Entomologists from the University of Florida have revealed that due to unusual weather patterns the swarming seasons of the two species have overlapped for the first time, providing them an opportunity to meet and mate. The finding has appeared in the journal PLoS ONE.
The study explains how this phenomenon is leading to the development of brand-new hybrid colonies, which develop twice as fast as their parent species. Scientists are not yet sure whether the super termites are capable of reproducing. If they reproduce, it will bring more problems with the new species invading other areas beyond Florida. Author Nan-Yao Su said “Because a termite colony can live up to 20 years with millions of individuals, the damaging potential of a hybrid colony remains a serious threat to homeowners even if the hybrid colony does not produce fertile winged termites.”

Asian and Formosan termites are responsible for much of the estimated $40 billion in economic losses each year attributed to termites. With the new finding, the researchers predict that Florida will experience “dramatically increased damage to structures in the near future.” The two species have always been capable of mating but the climate shift has provided them the opportunity to do so. The unusually warm winters of 2013 and 2014 explain the wide overlap in their swarming seasons. Researchers also highlighted that with constant climate change, interbreeding could be a common occurrence in near future. Su stated “Right now, we barely see the tip of the iceberg. But we know it’s a big one.”

Now a hybrid- kept apart by separate swarming seasons, brought together by global warming. If the hybrid can reproduce by itself, we have a new species. Based on the rate and numbers at which the two species reproduce, given the favorable conditions, a new species is certainly a possibility. 

Solitary

Right! look what happen in the Everglades from global warming:
There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.

Mermaid

A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities â€" all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. -TR

aitm

And we have people playing zombie -aclypes when we will be surrounding us with gas and burning our way out of a termite fest…hoo-rah.
A humans desire to live is exceeded only by their willingness to die for another. Even god cannot equal this magnificent sacrifice. No god has the right to judge them.-first tenant of the Panotheust

stromboli