Engraved Inscription
Title: Engraved Inscription
Year: 2018
Description: This is a piece of furniture infestested with domestic drywood termites. Colonies of domestic drywood termites feed on wooden structures in buildings and wooden furniture. Within the wood, they form tunnels of various shapes, which often become filled with wood shavings created during feeding and frass (excrement) that is pushed out, accumulating around the wood, which is a characteristic of this species.
Insect: Domestic drywood termite Cryptotermes domesticus (Haviland, 1898)
Order Blattodea
Family Kalotermitidae
Introduction: The distribution of the domestic drywood termite is mainly in low-elevation areas in central and southern Taiwan. Unlike other common termite species, they do not build nests underground. Rather, they live and build nests in dry wood and do not need to rely on a water source. This species damages wood structures of traditional buildings such as historic monuments and temples, as well as wood furniture. As they feed on wood, wood shavings and frass (excrement) are pushed out of the holes in the wood, forming small piles.
Photographed by: Zhang Jia-Hao; Let’s Explore Insects in the Home Team
