Feeding activities of 7 colonies of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, were examined. Wood-consumption rates among colonies differed significantly, ranging from 23.80-78.48 mg/g/day. This large intraspecific variation raised a question of whether differences in feeding activity reported for other termite species were due to interspecific differences. When rates were expressed as mg wood consumed by one g termite per day (mg/g/day), termites of larger body weight appeared to consume less wood. This negative correlation, however, was not significant when rates were expressed as mg wood consumed by an individual per day (mg/worker/day).

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