[Taxacom] Anyone out there know of a US species of termite that is easily bred?

[Michael Schmitt]

Dear colleagues,

maybe it is worth to contact someone working at the BAM Federal Institute
for Materials Research and Testing, Dept. 4
(http://www.bam.de/de/kompetenzen/fachabteilungen/abteilung_4/). I know
definitely that they reared several termite species over years, if not
decades. Unfortunately, my personal contact to them dates back to the 1980s,
so I cannot point to an individual researcher there.

The only staff member I know personally is Dr. Ruediger Plarre
(Ruediger.Plarre at bam.de), but he is not responsible for the termite rearing.

Greetings
Michael

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu
[mailto:taxacom-bounces at mailman.nhm.ku.edu] Im Auftrag von Doug Yanega
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 18. Februar 2010 19:12
An: TAXACOM at MAILMAN.NHM.KU.EDU
Betreff: Re: [Taxacom] Anyone out there know of a US species of termite that
is easily bred?

>Hi Taxacomers,
>
>I have been asked to find out if there are any US termite
>species that are, or can be, readily bred for reptile food.
>I did not ask, but I presume it must be something at least
>8 or more mm long (3/8ths inch or more).

I would imagine that rearing *any* species of termite is quite a 
challenge, given the natural history, especially of the queens. A 
honey bee observation hive must be a piece of cake compared to a 
termite colony, unless it's something with small colony size. Maybe a 
Zootermopsis species?

Peace,
-- 

Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
Univ. of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0314        skype: dyanega
phone: (951) 827-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
              http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
   "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
         is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82

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__________________________________________________

Prof.Dr. Michael Schmitt
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universitaet
Allgemeine & Systematische Zoologie
Anklamer Str. 20
D-17489 Greifswald
Germany

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