{"id":149969,"date":"2026-02-10T09:40:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T09:40:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/149969\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T09:40:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T09:40:25","slug":"all-of-florida-is-at-risk-thanks-to-2-invasive-termite-species-that-have-now-formed-a-hybrid-experts-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/149969\/","title":{"rendered":"All of Florida is at risk thanks to 2 invasive termite species that have now formed a hybrid, experts say"},"content":{"rendered":"

GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A new study<\/a> from the University of Florida has revealed that two invasive species of termites in Florida have begun to spread farther than experts previously predicted, according to a report from News4JAX sister station WKMG in Orlando<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a blog post last week<\/a>, UF\/IFAS Public Relations Manager Lourdes Mederos discussed the two species, identified as Formosan<\/a> and Asian termites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While these pests have been historically relegated to South Florida, Mederos explained that they\u2019re no longer restricted to just that region of the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cDecades of monitoring data show the spread is accelerating, with the Asian subterranean termite moving steadily north and the Formosan termite now established in most coastal counties and major urban centers, potentially putting all of Florida at risk by mid-century,\u201d her post reads.<\/p>\n

As such, Lourdes writes, long-term partnerships with pest control professionals will grow to be increasingly important, since these relationships will help experts to better monitor where these termites are heading.<\/p>\n

What are these invasive termites?<\/p>\n

In an interview with WKMG last summer<\/a>, Thomas Chouvenc, an associate professor of urban entomology with the UF\/IFAS, explained that the Formosan and Asian termites hail from parts of Asia.<\/p>\n

FILE-This March 2, 1998 file photo shows dozens of Formosan termites walking in a glass container at the lab at the University of Florida in Davie.(AP Photo\/Victor R. Caivano,File) (Copyright 1998 AP. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

According to the UF\/IFAS<\/a>, Chouvenc and other researchers have determined that humans may be helping these termites \u201cconquer the world\u201d by unwittingly ferrying them around via private boats.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, South Florida is one of the few places in the world where these species have established independently,\u201d Chouvenc said. \u201cThey\u2019re requested to be two of the most destructive termite species in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why are they such a problem?<\/p>\n

The Formosan species can form colonies with millions of individual termites, potentially causing tens of thousands of dollars\u2019 worth of damage to homes.<\/p>\n

State officials<\/a> also report that Formosan termites will forage aggressively, making them much more destructive than native subterranean termite species.<\/p>\n

But while these invasive Formosan termites can be found in a wide range of states \u2014 including Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Hawaii, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Arizona and California \u2014 that\u2019s not the case for the Asian termites.<\/p>\n

Similarly to Formosans, they\u2019ve been responsible for home damage and the deaths of plenty of healthy trees in the region.<\/p>\n

This photo shows the damage of a tree that has been hallowed by an unspecified termite colony. (Lourdes Mederos, UF\/IFAS) ((Lourdes Mederos, UF\/IFAS))<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to call (Asian termites) the tropical cousin of a Formosan termite because they are adapted to truly warm temperatures, cannot survive cold temperatures,\u201d Chouvenc stated. \u201cSo it\u2019s been restricted to South Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Chouvenc, Asian termites have spread north as far as places like Tampa, Orlando and Melbourne<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always say that 99.9% of all infestations in houses will be either Asian termites or Formosan termites,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But thanks to the Asian variety interbreeding with Formosan termites, this problem could spread much farther.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re breeding!?<\/p>\n

Recent research<\/a> has revealed that two invasive species of termites in Florida have managed to produce a hybrid, raising concerns about the destructive potential this new breed brings to the table.<\/p>\n

Thomas Chouvenc inspects a tree in South Florida for termites. (Tyler Jones, UF\/IFAS) ((Tyler Jones, UF\/IFAS))<\/p>\n

Last year, Chouvenc and other researchers finally found a hybrid colony infesting a tree in Fort Lauderdale, leading to the revelation that this new hybrid species has established itself in South Florida.<\/p>\n

However, Chouvenc said that may not be the case forever, as further crossbreeding may create hybrids that are better adapted to different temperatures, potentially increasing their range across Florida and even into neighboring states.<\/p>\n

Thomas Chouvenc provided a close-up look at all species in a recent study showing the slight differences between the established termite species and the hybrid (Thomas Chouvenc)<\/p>\n

That being said, it may not be a problem many people today will have to worry about.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the very long term \u2014 this is beyond our lifetime, I hope \u2014 these two species will become ubiquitous in Florida because of their own special ability to spread,” he said.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Chouvenc explained, researchers are still looking into measures to mitigate the spread of termites and deal with infestations.<\/p>\n

For more information on how to prevent a termite infestation in your home, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GAINESVILLE, Fla. \u2013 A new study from the University of Florida has revealed that two invasive species of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1563,28,30,29,72480,2512],"class_list":{"0":"post-149969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-headlines","11":"tag-florida-news","12":"tag-termites","13":"tag-university-of-florida"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}