Credit: David Mora– https://www.pasiontermitas.comRising international temperature levels could lead to more widespread termite problems, increasing damage expenses beyond the present 40 billion USD per year, with scientists calling for instant action to alleviate this threat.With the increasing temperature levels of environment modification, homeowners face a new type of danger: intrusive termites. Presently, termites trigger over 40 billion USD worth of damage each year, and as their population broadens, this expense is sure to grow.In a new research study released in the open-access journal Neobiota, PhD trainee Edouard Duquesne and Professor Denis Fournier from the Evolutionary Biology & & Ecology laboratory (Université libre de Bruxelles) unveil the upsetting reality of invasive termites potential expansion into new territories.Their study shows that as temperatures increase and climate patterns shift, cities worldwide, from tropical hotspots like Miami and Lagos to temperate metropolitan areas like Paris or New York, could soon find themselves under siege by these small yet harmful pests.Adolfo Cuadrado, a termite problem expert at Anticimex, carefully inspects the damages caused by Coptotermes gestroi termites on a house wall.” As we challenge the challenges of a rapidly altering climate, awareness and proactive steps are our finest defense against the creeping hazard of invasive termites,” they conclude.Reference: “Connectivity and climate change drive the global circulation of extremely intrusive termites” by Edouard Duquesne and Denis Fournier, 30 April 2024, NeoBiota.DOI: 10.3897/ neobiota.92.115411.
