Two of the World's Worst Termites Hooked Up in Florida—and Now We're Screwed
A termite horror story a decade in the making is unfolding in South Florida. Two of the most destructive invasive termites on the planet are not only coexisting—they're mating. And now, scientists have confirmed that the populations are hybridized.
In a new study published this month in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers from the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) report that the Formosan subterranean termite and the Asian subterranean termite are crossbreeding and producing viable offspring in South Florida neighborhoods. The result is a new hybrid termite population that could cause even more environmental and structural damage than its already-devastating parents.
'Unfortunately, termite colonies are very cryptic and trying to find hybrid colonies in the field is like looking for a needle in a haystack,' said Thomas Chouvenc, a researcher at the University of Florida and lead author of the study, in a university release. 'We monitored termite activity closely for more than a decade to check for the establishment of hybrid colonies in some of the neighborhoods affected by the two termite species.'
Genetic testing confirmed that the strange-looking termites first spotted in 2021 were hybrids of the aforementioned species. 'At first, I could not believe it, as I was hoping to never find it,' Chouvenc said.
In October 2024, the researchers discovered a full-blown hybrid colony in a Fort Lauderdale park, which had likely been active for more than five years before being detected. Chouvenc said that there are likely many more hundreds of colonies across South Florida that have not yet been found.
Both parent species are prolific breeders, capable of forming massive colonies and spreading rapidly. The fact that these hybrids are swarming—and potentially just as fertile—raises major red flags.
Fort Lauderdale's status as a global boating hub may accelerate the spread. 'This may be a Florida story now, but it likely won't stay just in Florida,' Chouvenc warned. Private boats have previously been implicated in termite spread across the U.S. and internationally.
Termite hybridization is not just an American problem; the phenomenon has also been observed in Taiwan, suggesting that crossbreeding between the species may be unavoidable in areas where they coexist.
In the meantime, Florida's latest invasive residents are combining forces to chomp their way across the state—and beyond.
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