Use of termite workers Cornitermes cumulans as soil bioindicator of insecticide residues

Abstract

It was verified that workers of termites Cornitermes cumulans Kollar, 1832 were sensible to the determination of residual insecticide power in soil. This study was developed with the insecticides cypermethrin, deltamethrin, carbofuran and aldrin, in a mud-sandy-clay soil with pH 5.6 and organic matter 2.2%. The soil was treated with a dosage five times higher than the LC₅₀ values obtained for termite workers in the laboratory. The experiments were developed on laboratory, in Petri dishes and in glass tubes. It was found that the insecticide aldrin is not perceptible by the termite workers in the soil; on the other hand cypermethrin, deltamethrin and carbofuran were immediately detected. Both pyrethroid insecticides modified the behavior of the termites, causing less activity and causing their grouping, thus showing their repellent action.