The role of genetic methods in assessing termite bait efficacy

Bait systems for subterranean termites have proven highly effective in eliminating colonies infesting structures and trees. Traditionally, efficacy of bait treatments has been assessed by mark-recapture methods. The use of genetic markers to genetically fingerprint colonies, especially co-dominant biparentally inherited markers such as microsatellites, is a much more powerful means of tracking the fate of individual colonies following bait application, allowing many colonies to be tracked simultaneously over long periods of time. In addition, genetic markers can reveal important information on the breeding structure of colonies, as well as help delineate colony foraging areas. The growing literature on the application of molecular markers to track colonies at varying spatial scales will be summarized from studies looking at the protection of individual structures to area-wide approaches. Modern genetic methods for identifying and tracking individual colonies are relatively easy to employ and offer a vast improvement over more traditional methods.