Wood‐feeding, nesting and production of secondary reproductives are key determinant traits of invasive species of drywood termites, and the West Indian drywood termite Cryptotermes brevis (Walker) is one of their major examples of worldwide concern as pest species of structural lumber, furniture and other wood products. The problem and losses by this species are determined by the prevailing wood characteristics. However, despite the current widespread occurrence of this species in the tropics, except Asia, tropical wood resistance and underlying mechanisms of resistance against this termite are scarcely known. Nonetheless, wood hardness and particularly wood density were recently recognized as important underlying traits for C. brevis resistance in tropical woods, but the chemical wood constituents were not considered. Here, we assessed tropical wood resistance to the invasive termite species C. brevis and tested the relevance of their holocellulose, lignin and (total) extractive contents preventing termite infestation. Free‐choice and no‐choice tests were carried out in parallel with wood chemical characterization. Resistance to the West Indian termite varied with wood species in terms of both colonization and consumption, but only under free‐choice testing because without choice, no significant difference was detected among wood species. Regardless, none of these traits were significantly correlated with wood resistance to C. brevis. Therefore, wood physical resistance, particularly wood density, seems the main recognized determinant of tropical wood resistance against the West Indian drywood termite. The pattern of termite movement on the surface of soft, mid and hard wood was also consistent with this conclusion.

中文翻译：

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热带木材的化学成分和对入侵干木白蚁 Cryptotermes brevis 的抵抗力

以木材为食、筑巢和产生二次繁殖是干木白蚁入侵物种的关键决定性特征，西印度干木白蚁 Cryptotermes brevis (Walker) 是它们作为结构木材、家具和其他木制品。该物种的问题和损失由主要木材特性决定。然而，尽管目前该物种在除亚洲外的热带地区广泛存在，但几乎不知道热带木材抗性和抗这种白蚁的潜在机制。尽管如此，木材硬度和特别是木材密度最近被认为是热带木材中短纤毛抗性的重要潜在特征，但没有考虑化学木材成分。这里，我们评估了热带木材对入侵白蚁物种 C. brevis 的抵抗力，并测试了它们的全纤维素、木质素和（总）提取物含量与防止白蚁侵扰的相关性。自由选择和非选择测试与木材化学表征同时进行。对西印度白蚁的抵抗力在定植和消耗方面因木材种类而异，但仅在自由选择测试下，因为没有选择，木材种类之间没有检测到显着差异。无论如何，这些性状中没有一个与木材对 C. brevis 的抗性显着相关。因此，木材物理抗性，特别是木材密度，似乎是热带木材抗西印度干木白蚁的主要公认决定因素。软体表面的白蚁运动模式，