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Journal of Wood Science

Official Journal of the Japan Wood Research Society

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Behavioral and electrophysiological investigation on taste response of the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis to wood extractives

Journal of Wood Science volume 52, pages 261–264 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Termite feeding behavior and the chemoreception of plant extracts were evaluated to investigate the water extracts from akamatsu (Pinus densiflora), neem (Azadirachta indica), and their equivalent mixture using pseudoergates of Zootermopsis nevadensis. In behavioral assays, termite preference was akamatsu > akamatsu plus neem > neem. Electrophysiological recordings from the taste hairs on labial palps showed vigorous impulse discharge to akamatsu extract but much lower response to neem extract. The response to akamatsu plus neem was mostly the same as that to neem alone, suggesting the neem extracts inhibited the responses to akamatsu extracts. In the present article, we discuss the correlations between the feeding behaviors and the responses at their taste cells to these different extracts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wood Preservation Laboratory, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tsukuba, 305-8687, Japan

    Wakako Ohmura

  2. Laboratory of Chemical Ecology, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Kyoto, 606-8585, Japan

    Mamiko Ozaki & Ryohei Yamaoka

Authors
  1. Wakako Ohmura
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  2. Mamiko Ozaki
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  3. Ryohei Yamaoka
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Correspondence to Wakako Ohmura.

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Ohmura, W., Ozaki, M. & Yamaoka, R. Behavioral and electrophysiological investigation on taste response of the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis to wood extractives. J Wood Sci 52, 261–264 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-005-0752-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10086-005-0752-5

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