Ethno charaterisation of termite species in the rangelands of central Uganda

B Mali, S Okello, M Ocaido, A S Nalule and S Celsus

College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University. PO Box 7062, Kampala, Uganda
b3mali@covab.mak.ac.ug

Abstract

A cross sectional study was carried out in Nakasongola District located in Central Uganda to identify termite species and their characteristics in order to establish the most pestiferous of all that inhabit the rangelands. Nakasongola District was chosen due to its high termite mound density. One sub county out of 9 within the District was selected due to its high termite mound density and presence of both crop cultivation and animal grazing activities. Four parishes were randomly selected from the sub-county and two villages were chosen from each parish. Six key informants, the most knowledgeable on termite ecology and behaviour were selected from each of the villages creating a total of 48 respondents. Interviewer administered questionnaires were administered to all the respondents which were then followed by focus group discussions. This involved division of the respondents into four groups each containing twelve members, followed by physical termite species identification aided by the key informants. Samples of each species were collected, placed in sample bottles containing 70% ethanol, labelled and taken to the lab for taxonomic identification. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software (IBM SPSS statistics 24) were used to analyse data collected. Results were presented in graphical and tabular format. The eight species identified fell under the genera Macrotermes, microtermes, Odontotermes cubitermes and Pseudocanthotermes,all belonging to the family termitidae. Macrotermes, Odontotermes and cubitermes were categorised as epigeal mound builders while Microtermes and Pseudocanthotermes nested underground. Macrotermes bellicosus and Macrotermes Suhyalinus were the most abundant and pestiferous species. Odontotermes, microtermes and Pseudocanthotermes spps were also considered pests by the community.

Key words: castes, genera, termitaria

Introduction

Although termites play a major ecological role of nutrient recycling, damages created on crop and pastures as a result of uncontrolled termite species population and activity within the rangelands is a major hindrance to ecosystem productivity (Sekamatte 2000). Over 50% of crop loss due to termite attack in Uganda has been reported in fields of maize, cassava and ground nuts (Sekamatte 2001). Efforts for reforestation using Eucalyptus species and fodder tree establishment with Calliandra calothyrsus and Grevillea robusta have been futile due to termite presence (Nyeko and Olubayo 2005). Not only crops and trees but also grass vegetation has been denuded by termites (Mpairwe et al 2008), resulting in low animal productivity or mortality due to food scarcity (Mugerwa et al 2008). Previous studies have emphasized the contribution of termite activity to degradation of pastures and extent of damage to pastures and crop yield as a result of termite activity (Sekamatte 2001). Noted by most farmers as pestiferous are species falling under the genera Macrotermes and Pseudacanthotermes (Orikiriza et al 2012). Other genera noted for crop destruction in Africa include Odontermes, hodotermes, microtermes,ancistrotermes, allodontermes, amitermes and trinervitermes (Mitchell 2003). Focusing on farmer’s indigenous knowledge on termite characterisation based on morphology, mound specifications, behavioural differences and extent of crop damage provides guidance in the process of identifying the most pestiferous species and will act as a foundation in formulation of strategies for their management and control.

Methodology

A cross sectional study was carried out in Nakasongola District located in Central Uganda to identify termite species and their characteristics, with the sole purpose of identifying the most pestiferous of all that inhabit the rangelands. Nakasongola District was chosen due to its high termite mound density. One sub-county out of 9 within the District was selected due to its high termite mound density and presence of both crop cultivation and animal grazing activities. Four parishes were randomly selected from the sub-county and two villages were chosen from each parish. Six key informants, the most knowledgeable on termite ecology and behaviour were selected from each of the villages creating a total of 48 respondents. Interviewer administered questionnaires were administered to all the respondents which were then followed by focus group discussions. This involved division of the respondents into four groups each containing twelve members, followed by physical termite species identification aided by the key informants. Samples of each species were collected, placed in sample bottles containing alcohol, labelled and taken to the laboratory for taxonomic identification. Descriptive statistics using SPSS software (IBM SPSS statistics 24) were used to analyse data collected. Results were presented in graphical and tabular format.

Results

Termite presence

Every community member acknowledged sighting termites within their homesteads. Apart from their physical presence, other means for establishing their bearing such as mound, channels, crop destruction and predatory bird presence were utilised. The general features agreed upon by the community as being indicative of termite presence are shown in table 1. Increment or decrement in these features within the community implied an increase or reduction in the termite population respectively. While most households (58.8%) had approximately 10-15 mounds per acre, others (35.2%) had 2-6 mounds per acre. The rest (6%) had over 40 mounds per acre. The termite species characteristics and community perceptions on preferred habitat are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Community perceptions on termite characteristics and preferred habitat
Termite species	Local name	Termitaria, caste descriptions and preferred habitat	Termitaria and termite species
Macrotermes bellicosus	Mpawu	Build Epigeal mound, cone shaped with jagged peaks and underground tunnels leading to gardens. Several openings exist within the mound with the largest ones being at the base. Soldiers have a large yellowish brown head with small body (relative to head) and small brown abdomen. The workers are small but with a big abdomen and the queen has an enlarged yellowish abdomen. Establish mounds in the lowlands within crop gardens
Microtermes spp1	Enaka	Build hypogeal mounds and creates holes locally referred to as ‘’eyes’’ through which they emerge from the ground during rainy seasons. They are small black termites and the alates have translucent wings. Create channels on dry wood within crop gardens
Pseudocanthotermes spps1	Kaseregete	Live underground and leave no evidence of mound presence. They however build channels on wood that they are feeding on. Their alates are white with very small wings. Found within dry wood in lowland crop gardens
Macrotermes spp 3	Entunda	Hilly grazing areas. Termites are mainly sighted on the ground surface.
Macrotermes subhyalinus	Ensegere	Epigeal mound is large and dome shaped shaped with broad rounded top. Very few openings exist on the mound. They are the largest termites possessing soldiers with purplish black head and small body (relative to head). The Queen is white with a black tinge on the abdomen and can hardly fly. Establish mounds within crop gardens especially waterlogged areas
Odontotermes spps 1	Mbaala	Build epigeal mounds that comprise several large holes leading into the underground, built in circular fashion. They may colonise and establish on mounds of other species such as M bellicosus. Mushrooms produced by these termites grow on the walls within the holes. Build mounds in lowland crop gardens and can colonise existing mounds
Cubitermes spp1	Nkulukuku	Possess small mushroom shaped epigeal mounds. Both soldiers and workers have black abdomens Establish mounds in lowland grazing areas

Termite species prevalence

The reasons for the level of abundance of termites as given by the community were as follows: The abundance of Macrotermes bellicosus was attributed to its mobility and ability to multiply rapidly. Apart from rapid multiplication, Macrotermes subhyalinus has the ability to conquer vast territory far from the original colony by flying longer distances than other termite species. Their deep and large soil compacted mound discourages man from breaking and destroying them. Besides their sparse population, Microtermes spp1 colonies have low mobility in comparison to Macrotermes bellicosus and Macrotermes subhyalinus. They often shift and only thrive in places with fertile soil. Odontotermes spps 1 fly short distances and their foraging activity occurs underground. The community believes that the climate is not favourable forMacrotermes spp3 termite species. Pseudocanthotermes spps 1 on the other hand multiplies rapidly, is wide spread and difficult to exterminate. The presence of Cubitermes spp1 within grazing areas was attributed to their attraction to the vegetation.

Respondents noted that all termite species swarming’s occurred during rainy seasons. The Macrotermes bellicosus and Macrotermes subhyalinus swarming occurred during the March-May rains while Microtermes spp1, Macrotermes spp3 and Pseudocanthotermes spps1 occurred during the September to December rainfall. In some instances however, Macrotermes subhyalinus and Macrotermes bellicosus swarming occurred during the September-December rain. Some community members (5.9%) mentioned that Microtermes spp1, Odontotermes spps 1 and Pseudocanthotermes spps1 swarming’s occur every rainy season.

Dominance in crop destruction

Even though Macrotermes bellicosus and Macrotermes subhyalinus were noted as the most destructive, A few individuals noted Pseudocanthotermes spps1 as the dominant (5.9%) and second dominant (11.8%) species in crop destruction respectively. Loss of crop due to termite activity was experienced by 88.2% of the respondents. Majority (82.4%) experience crop loss 1-2 times a year with the highest and lowest incidences of damage according to respondents (53% and 58.8%), occurring in April and December respectively. Community perceptions on termite prevalence, dominance in crop destruction, Age, form and part of crop destroyed by the termite species is as shown in table 3.

Discussion

The use of termite channels and mound frequency as indicators of termite population elevation or decline is utilized not only by communities within rangelands but also in other areas inhabited by termites. Presence of these structures not only indicates termite presence but also species diversity as in the case of studies done in Nigeria (Ogedegbe and Eloka 2015). Size of mound could be indicative of the size of the colonies (Wagkari and Getu 2015). The number of mounds sighted per acre by community was limited to 15 mounds which was low in comparison to the range of 80-256 mounds per hectare found in commercial ranches within Nakasongola (Mugerwa et al 2011). The difference in the number of mounds can probably be attributed to the difference in land use patterns with low termite predator, high intensity commercial ranches having higher termite population and more taxa than low intensity land use sites (Zeidler et al 2002). Fewer mound numbers could have also been given because unlike the latter study carried out in ranches that focused on numerical establishment of both epigeal and hypogeal mounds, the community opinion of mound number estimation per acre in this study, is based on the enumeration of only the visible epigeal mounds.

The eight species of termite noted in the study area belonged to the family Termitidae. The dominance of the genus Macrotermes could be attributed to their reputation as generalist feeders that consume organic material that encompasses grass, wood dung and plant debris (Donavan et al 2001). The majority however are litter feeders and increment in their population as noted by Engel (2011) is highly dependent on the amount of litter present. This was observed by Okwakol and Sekamate (2007) who noted the increase in Macrotemes density and diversity in Uganda forest ecosystems, as a result of increased litter due to clearance of trees.

M. bellicosuswas dominant in fresh vegetation with preference for crop gardens in comparion to grazing lands. This deferred from M. subhyalinus which existed in both fresh vegetation and dry wood. Dominance of M. bellicosus not only in Ugandan rangelands but other parts of Africa could be attributed to them being voracious feeders and comprising aggressive soldiers with large scissor like mandibles and high defensive mechanisms (Ogedegbe and Eloka 2015). Even though both species were dominant in the lowland area and had a preference for crops within gardens, they unlike Microtermes spp1 were sporadically sighted on bareground surface. Therefore, they used underground galleries in which they were sighted by farmers cultivating land to access the crop within the vicinity of the mound. These underground tunnels enhance the species foraging mechanisms (Ogedegbe and Eloka 2015). Even though both species existed within the lowlands, only M. subhyalinus had mounds within waterlogged areas. Microtermes spp1 according the community, did not construct mounds above the ground surface. They probably create hypogeal (underground) mounds from which they emerge through tiny holes on the ground surface. It is from these holes that the species create soil channels on the ground surface that lead to their food sources. Microtermes spp1 exists in the lowland, hills and waterlogged areas feeding preferably on dry wood rather than fresh vegetation. The mound building Macrotermes spp3 are not common species in the area and their rarity could be due to their seasonal appearance which is a common phenomenon with several termite species (Zeidler, 2002). Both feed on dry wood and litter. The Odontotermes spp1 just like M. bellicosus, M. subhyalinus and Microtermes spp1 feed on both drywood and fresh vegetation especially within crop gardens. Although they are not as abundant as M. subhyalinus and M. bellicosus, they have often been sighted both below and on ground surface.

Odontotermes spp1, Microtermes spp1 and Pseudocanthotermes spp1 were identified as crop pests. It has been noted that the Odontotermes can exhibit dominance in infestation and denudation as experienced in some parts of Nigeria (Mohammed et al 2014). However notice of their damage to crop due to foraging activity in the study area was overshadowed by the most dominant and destructive M. bellicosus and M. subhyalinus . Most affected by all these pests were the fresh young plants. M. bellicosus was signalled as the biggest threat to growing crops while M. Subhyalinus dominated in mature and dry crop destruction. Pseudocanthotermes spps1 did pose a threat to stored grain and have been documented for their defoliation of maize seedlings and consumption of entire plants (Akol et al 2011).

Conclusion

• All termite species within the study area belonged to the family Termitidae. The genera identified were Macrotermes, Microtermes, Odontotermes pseudocanthotermes and cubitermes. The termite species regarded as the dominant pests were M. bellicosus and M. subhyalinus. Other species considered as pests were Pseudocanthotermes spp1, Odontotermes spp1 and Microtermes spp1.

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Received 17 September 2017; Accepted 20 October 2017; Published 1 January 2018

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