Heartwood of plantation-grown Pinus elliottii (slash pine), Pinus caribaea (Caribbean pine) and Pinus radiata (radiata pine) was obtained from a range of locations throughout Australia and New Zealand for use in a field bioassey with subterranean termites. Timber stock was analysed for a number of stilbene and flavonoid heartwood extractive components which could contribute to variation in susceptibility to termite attack. Test blocks were cut from timber selected to contain a wide quantitative compositional range of each component, and the content in each block was estimated. Using a lunchbox technique, blocks were exposed to attack by the subterranean termite Coptotermes acinaciformis (Froggatt) in the field. Both inter- and intra-specific variation in susceptibility was studied. Caribbean and slash pine heartwood was consistently resistant to attack under the conditions of the test, whereas the susceptibility of radiata pine heartwood increased with decreasing stilbene and flavonoid content.

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