Officials recently identified the Nasutitermes nigriceps termite, a native of Cancun, Mexico, on a sailboat anchored in Fort Lauderdale. Hawaii has no native termites, but imported species thrived in its lush tropical climate and rich volcanic soil. Formosans probably arrived more than 100 years ago and are a major pest. Three species of drywood termites, which nest in the wood they eat, came later. Then, in the space of a year, two more drywood species appeared, raising Hawaii's termite total to six species.
Entomologists expect the new species to spread.
Interestingly, Hawaiians owe the discovery of one recent arrival to a couple of pest-control operators from Florida who were visiting the state in 1996. Driving around in a rental car, they chanced upon a termite infestation in some dead tree limbs by the side of the road in the rural valley of Wahiawa on the island of Oahu. They collected samples and sent them to Scheffrahn, who identified them as Cryptotermes cynocephalus and alerted University of Hawaii entomologist Ken Grace. Grace has been conducting a survey of the area, finding the termite prevalent in scrub brush. But so far, he has not found it infesting buildings.