U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2007





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Read the magazine story to find out more.Video camera: Link to video launch pageThey can run, but they can't hide:Peek inside an oak tree to see a Windows Media Player video clip of termites fleeing from foam.Top: Formosan subterranean termites feed on trees and wood structures. To combat them, ARS scientists developed a foaming fungal biocontrol treatment. Bottom: ARS microbiologist Mark Jackson (left) uses a fiber optic video camera to monitor termite activity inside a tree as New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board entomologist Ed Freytag injects the tree with foam. Click the images for more information about them.For further reading
Calm before the swarm
Plant extracts terminate termites
Fungal brew dooms pests Fungal Foam Targets Termites Inside Trees Jan Suszkiw  A fungus-filled foam is being tested as a biological alternative to using chemicals to kill termites hiding inside tree trunks and other hard-to-reach places. Developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Peoria, Ill., and New Orleans, La., the foam contains spores of the fungus Paecilomyces fumosoroseus, which kills termites by feeding and growing inside their bodies. Since the fungus poses no such danger to people and nonhost insects, it's an appealing alternative to chemically treating termite-infested trees with insecticides, notes Chris Dunlap. He's a chemist with ARS' National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria. Dunlap codeveloped the foam with microbiologists Mark Jackson—also at the Peoria center—and Maureen Wright, with ARS' Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans. A top target of theirs is the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus. A nonindigenous species that's become established in the southern and southwestern United States, the Formosan termite is unrivaled in the size of its colonies, tunneling and appetite for cellulose in wood materials and living trees. In New Orleans alone, the pest costs an estimated $300 million annually in damages and losses. But if the team's tests in New Orleans' City Park are any indication, the fungal foam could make the heartwood of live oaks and other host trees far less hospitable to Formosan termites. Indeed, researchers have observed little to no termite activity in trees originally treated with the fungal foam in 2005. However, because some control trees were lost to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, additional tests were begun in the spring of 2007 to further substantiate the foam's effectiveness. When injected into trees, the foam expands into any cavities or tunnels the pests have made in the heartwood. Upon collapsing, it disperses spores onto the termites, or to areas where the termites travel. You can learn more details by reading a longer article in this month's issue of Agricultural Research magazine. ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov