Two of the World’s Worst Termites Hooked Up in Florida—and Now We’re Screwed

A termite horror story a decade in the making is unfolding in South Florida. Two of the most destructive invasive termites on the planet are not only coexisting—they’re mating. And now, scientists have confirmed that the populations are hybridized. In a new study published this month in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) report that the Formosan subterranean termite and the Asian subterranean termite are crossbreeding and producing viable offspring in South Florida neighborhoods. The result is a new hybrid termite population that could cause even more environmental and structural damage than its already-devastating parents. “Unfortunately, termite colonies are very cryptic and trying to find hybrid colonies in the field is like looking for a needle in a haystack,” said Thomas Chouvenc, a researcher at the University of Florida and lead author of the study, in a university release. “We ... Read full article.