| Postelectrotermes militaris | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Blattodea |
| Infraorder: | Isoptera |
| Family: | Kalotermitidae |
| Genus: | Postelectrotermes |
| Species: | P. militaris |
| Binomial name | |
| Postelectrotermes militaris (Desneux, 1904) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Postelectrotermes militaris, the up-country tea termite, is a species of drywood termite of the genus Postelectrotermes . It is native to India and Sri Lanka. [1] It is a serious pest of tea.
It is one of major plant pest that attack wide range of economically important plants such as Acacia decurrens , Camellia sinensis , Casuarina equisetifolia , Cedrus sp., Cinnamomum camphora , Cryptomeria japonica , Erythrina subumbrans , Eucalyptus robusta , Grevillea robusta , Stenocarpus salignus , and Tephrosia vogelii . It mainly affects roots and stem parts, and sometimes the whole plant. [2]
Alates are rare in P. militaris colony. They invade bushes and mainly found in heartwood, never consume on sapwood. [2]
Termites can be removed by crop sanitation and pruning methods. Cultivating disease-resistant crop varieties is also practiced on tea plantations. Besides that, usage of natural pests and pathogens is not effective. Some soil-borne entomopathogens, for example entomopathogenic nematodes such as Heterorhabditis sp., Steinernema carpocapsae and Steinernema feltiae can be effective in natural areas up to some extent. [2] [3]