LAUSR

The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), is a significant invasive pest that originates from southern China (Kistner 1985, Sociobiology 10: 93–104) and Taiwan (Li et al. 2009, Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 102: 684–693). It is one of the most widely distributed and destructive subterranean termite pest species in the world (reviewed by Evans et al. 2013, Annu. Rev. Entomol. 58: 455–474). It typically is found in warm, humid areas in temperate to subtropical regions within latitudes 358N and 358S (Su and Tamashiro 1987, Biology and Control of the Formosan Subterranean Termite, Univ. Hawaii, 3– 15). To date, C. formosanus has not been formally reported from the Caribbean Basin. An online search (16 June 2017) lists a single report of C. formosanus in the Caribbean (CABI/EPPO 2008, Distribution Maps of Plant Pests, Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International, Map 710), but this U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) record is in error since CABI’s bibliographic reference (Su et al. 2003, Am. Entomol. 49: 20–32) describes a bait study targeting Heterotermes sp. on St. Croix, with only ancillary information regarding C. formosanus. Furthermore, C. formosanus is not reported in the two most recent termite surveys in the USVI (Nalepa and Jones 2002, Sociobiology 39: 155–163; Scheffrahn et al. 2003, Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 96: 181–201). An invasive congener, Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann), the Asian subterranean termite, is more widely distributed than C. formosanus and occurs on many islands throughout the Caribbean (Evans et al. 2013). Coptotermes gestroi is endemic to