New Zealand has only two indigenous species of termites, Calotermes brouni Frogg, and Stolotermes ruficeps Broun, the former a dry-wood and the latter a damp-wood species. Subterranean termites were first discovered in the Dominion in 1938, and an intensive survey showed that three Australian species, Coptotermes acinaciformis Frogg., C. frenchi Hill, and C. lacteus Frogg., had been, established. The first is much the commonest species. The distribution of these subterranean termites is confined at present to the towns of Auckland and New Plymouth. In the former there are three main areas of infestation which are widely separated and a number of spot infestations. In New Plymouth there is only one infested area. A small infestation which was found in the Poverty Bay district has been dealt with successfully. The variety of material infested is wide and includes houses and other buildings, fence posts, trees, tree stumps, utility poles and tramway sleepers. The absence of any form of protective measures in buildings, which in New Zealand are predominantly of timber construction throughout, makes these particularly vulnerable. There are few natural controls, the most useful being sparrows, which feed voraciously upon the winged forms.

In order to deal with the situation it was necessary to pass special legislation. “The Termites Act, 1940,” and its regulations, which break new ground from a legal point of view, are administered by the State Advances Corporation. Local bodies in whose districts subterranean termites are reported are brought under the provisions of the legislation by Order-in-Council. At present seven local authorities are so placed. The duties of the local authorities include the house-to-house inspection of their districts. In order to carry out these inspections efficiently, inspectors are given a course of training as prescribed in the Termites Legislation. The transference and use of infested timber is prohibited.

The numerous other provisions of the legislation, e.g., the advancing of loans to persons whose property has been damaged by termites, will not be detailed here. The control measures are the responsibility of the State Advances Corporation, and these consist primarily of dusting with white arsenic. At the commencement the arsenic was dusted into the termite runways, but owing to the high humidity conditions, especially in Auckland, it was found the arsenic tended to cake in the runways, and the method was abandoned in favour of dusting the insects themselves. The method is highly effective, but at times difficult of achievement. For a short period, termitaria, when discovered, were dug out and destroyed. This procedure has also been abandoned owing to the fact that very few queens were recovered. Contrary to expectations, it was found that fully developed queens are by no means immobile, but on the contrary can and do move quite quickly, and thus escape from the termitarium, usually accompanied by a small number of workers. They establish new colonies in a comparatively short time. Coptotermes acinaciformis and C. frenchi have both shown the ability to produce-supplementary queens.