Termite damage costs Americans about $7 billion each year in damage and treatment costs, making them one of the most expensive insects in the country.
According to a recent piece in EARTH magazine, that could be about to get worse. Termites (Reticulitermes) primarily inhabit the warmer, more southerly part of the country, devouring dead wood in forests throughout the southeast, and boring into houses whenever they get the chance.
Cooler, northern parts of the country have so far been spared their wood-munching wrath. But according to Christopher J. Peterson of the US Forest Service, climate change could tip the scales in the bugs' favor. He writes:
Even the epic snow storms that have battered the eastern part of the country this winter could create a lot of tasty wet wood that would up the price tag for termite damage, as Discovery News reporter Jorge Ribas discovered in this video:
Of course even if it does turn out to be a bad time for termites, one season's damage does not a trend make. Peterson is cautious to add that it may be several decades before termites migrate from Mississippi, where he currently lives, to America's northern reaches:
But the combination of increased storminess in certain parts of the country and rising temperatures appears to be assembling a future smorgasbord for termites. We'd who live in the still-chilly north had better be prepared for the new invaders.
Source: EARTH
Tags: Animal Behavior, Animal Research, Animal Science, Winter
comments ( )