termite colony collapse sequence
Termite baits can wipe out a colony in about 90 days, but the colony’s eggs are gone by day 30. Why? A new study investigates and finds that queens exposed to a chitin synthesis inhibitor bait rapidly lose their ability to lay viable eggs, filling in a missing piece of the puzzle in understanding how termite colonies collapse when exposed to a CSI baits. (Image originally published in Chouvenc and Lee 2021, Journal of Economic Entomology)