Plant species consumed by \textit{Constrictotermes cyphergaster} in a semiarid ecosystem, northeastern Brazil

The foraging activities of \textit{Constrictotermes cyphergaster} termites were monitored in an area of dryland caatinga vegetation in northeastern Brazil. Three nests were observed during 15 days every three months between January/2016 and June/2017 to identify the plant resources used as well as variations in their consumption during the wet and dry seasons. Around the nests were delimited plots (10 m²) to quantify the plant resources most consumed by those termites. Seventeen plant species, distributed in ten families, were found to be exploited by \textit{C. cyphergaster}, such as \textit{Croton} spp. (12.4%), \textit{Mimosa} spp. (10%), and \textit{Poincianella pyramidalis} (6.5%). Coincidentally, these three plant species were the most consumed in both seasons. Temporal variations were observed in the use of the different species in different seasons (F4,30=9.83, P<0.01), with higher consumption during the dry season. The diet of \textit{C. cyphergaster} was observed to be relatively varied, although with higher consumption frequencies of pioneer Caatinga plants as well as the most abundant species within the foraging areas of the colonies. The consumption of pioneer and abundant plant species in the plots can help explain the wide distribution of \textit{C. cyphergaster} in Caatinga domain. Financial support: CNPq, CAPES