Development of a standard medium for culturing the termite Reticulitermes speratus

Termites are eusocial insects that play an important role as decomposers in the natural environment. Therefore, they attract the attention of many researchers in terms of genetics, sociobiology, physiology, and ecology, and there is also a growing need among termite researchers to keep termites indoors in stable conditions. To establish a stable, long-term termite breeding method, it is necessary to develop a standard medium for each termite species to use as nesting material and food with favorable survival and growth rates. However, even for the same termite species, breeding conditions vary widely from researcher to researcher, and the experimental results cannot be easily compared among studies. In this study, we developed a standard medium for culturing the termite Reticulitermes speratus, called “brown-rotted pinewood mixed cellulose” (BPC) medium. Bioassays revealed that the BPC medium shows higher alate colony foundation success rate and higher survival rate, body weight gain, and preference of workers than the other media. Furthermore, chemical analyses revealed that BPC medium contains a full range of nutrients necessary for termite survival, including proteins, lipids, various minerals, and cellulose. Our method of producing BPC medium will contribute to the improvement of termite breeding and maintenance techniques.