CTAHR Banner
UH Manoa Seal

about us button
nav bar rule
academic & student affairs button
extension/outreach button
research button
nav bar rule
vision, mission, core values button
nav bar rule
departments button
counties button
international button
CTAHR in Action
rule
On the Lookout for Six-Legged Home Wreckers
Fifth graders at Kaaawa Elementary School examine termites under a dissecting microscope.

Fifth graders at Kaaawa Elementary School examine termites under a dissecting microscope.
Photo by Georgina Lillich.
With six legs, two antennae, and a segmented body, Tammy the Termite introduces first graders at Enchanted Lake Elementary School to the basics of insect anatomy.
With six legs, two antennae, and a segmented body, Tammy the Termite introduces first graders at Enchanted Lake Elementary School to the basics of insect anatomy.
Photo by Georgina Lillich.
UH Termite Project staff member Carrie Tome shows first graders from Hokulani Elementary School how to check subterranean termite traps and collect termites for use in research studies.
UH Termite Project staff member Carrie Tome shows first graders from Hokulani Elementary School how to check subterranean termite traps and collect termites for use in research studies.
Photo by Maria Aihara-Sasaki.
Soldiers with brown heads and pincer-shaped jaws defend the smaller, all-white workers in a termite colony.
Soldiers with brown heads and pincer-shaped jaws defend the smaller, all-white workers in a termite colony.
Photo by Joe Woodrow.
The Formosan subterranean termite finds strength in numbers. One mating pair of these “ground” termites can give rise to a colony of more than two million individuals—most of them wood-eating workers—in only seven years. Larger colonies can demolish a new house in two years. Measures to prevent and repair termite damage to wooden structures alone cost Hawaii more than $100 million per year. Termites can also disrupt utility services by eating the rubber gaskets that join water pipes or the plastic that insulates electrical wires.


If teamwork is the termites’ greatest strength, it’s also one of our best defenses against them. As part of the Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences’ Termite Project, CTAHR faculty, staff, students join with elementary and middle school students, teachers, and parents to raise community awareness of termites. This outreach effort has something for every participant. In partnership with K–12 teachers and members of the UH Curriculum Research and Development Group, the Termite Project staff develop a standards-compliant termite science curriculum and train teachers on how to use it. Elementary and middle school students enjoy age-appropriate, hands-on lessons designed to spark their interest in scientific inquiry while teaching them how to identify different types of termites, how termites live and reproduce, how to prevent termite damage, and how to control termite populations.


As their final termite project, the keiki share what they’ve learned. The younger students make informational displays and bring home worksheets to help their parents identify problems areas in the home that are vulnerable to termites. The older students create presentations or projects to inform parents, teachers, fellow students, and neighbors. Parents who want more information can attend termite seminars or download Cooperative Extension Service publications from the Termite Project Web site .


Now in its second year, the termite curriculum project has reached 56 classrooms in 22 Oahu schools. With so many new detectives at work, the ground termites’ days of easy eating may be numbered.
rule
back to top
Posted on October 19, 2004