Summary
Annual activity cycles of carpenter ants and subterranean termites were extracted from data maintained by cooperative extension service entomologists in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and Ohio. Autocorrelations suggested a strong cyclic patterning of public complaints, which increased in regularity from south to north. Spectral analysis revealed that the more northern states had complaint peaks occurring at longer frequencies, while more southern states had shorter frequency fluctuations, as expected if climatological factors drive the system. The existence of data such as these can be of great value in designing field experiments.
Resume
Les cycles d'activité annuels des fourmis-charpentières et des termites souterrains ont été déduits des relevés poursuivis par le service coopératif des entomologistes dans le Connecticut, le Maryland, le New Jersey, la Caroline du Nord et l'Ohio. Les autocorrélations suggèrent une forte structure cyclique des plaintes issues du public, avec une régularité augmentée du sud au nord. L'analyse spectrale révèle que les Etats les plus au nord présentaient des pics de plaintes à des fréquences plus grandes, alors que les Etats plus au sud avaient des fluctuations de fréquences plus courtes, comme on pouvait s'y attendre si les facteurs climatiques réglaient le système. De tels résultats peuvent être de grande valeur pour les expériences conduites dans la nature.
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Fowler, H.G., Roberts, R.B. Activity cycles of carpenter ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae:Camponotus) and subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae:Reticulitermes): Inference from synanthropic records. Ins. Soc 30, 323–331 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223990
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223990