STUDY OF THE SENSITIVITY OF SEXUAL TERMIT ES MACROTERMITINAE TO AN INFESTATION WITH ENTOMOPATHOGENIC NEMATODES OF GENERA HETERORHABDITIS AND STEINERNEMA

Two species of fungus-growing sexual termites which destroy tropical c rops were used to test the efficiency of 3 strains of entomopathogenic nematodes. The alates of the 2 species show a very high sensitivity t o the different strains of nematodes tested. In particular the nematod es from the genus Steinernema leads to the death of all the individual s within 15 days. On the other hand, for the first time a production o f L3 could be observed in a termite. The use of these new results in b iological control is discussed.