AbstractConcentrations of 22 elements in pinewood were compared with that in frass produced by insects representing the following taxa:Reticulitermesspp. (Rhinotermitidae), Zootermopsis nevadensis(Termopsidae), Incisitermes snyderi(Kalotermitidae), Hylotrupesspp. (Cerambycidae),Heterobostrychusspp. (Bostrichidae), Lyctusspp. (Bostrichidae),and representatives of the family Ptinidae (formerly Anobiidae). Twenty elements (Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Si, Sr, and Zn) were measured using inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectroscopy (ICP‐OES), whereas carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen percentages were measured using aCHNautoanalyzer. Chromium was the only element present at a statistically lower concentration in all frass types compared to pinewood. A comparison of pinewood to frass from those taxa that fed on pine revealed thatReticulitermes frass contained significantly higher levels of 15 elements,Zootermopsis10, Ptinidae 5,Incisitermes4, andHylotrupes 1. OnlyIncisitermesfrass showed a significantly higher percent carbon than pinewood andReticulitermes,Zootermopsis, and Ptinidae showed significantly higher percent nitrogen. Examination of percent approximate digestibility (PAD) indicated thatReticulitermesfrass had 14 elements that were ≥200% more concentrated than found in pinewood, whereasZootermopsishad 6,Lyctus5, ptinid 4,HylotrupesandHeterobostrychus3, andIncisitermesnone. This survey of elements in frass indicates that saproxylic insects are, for the most part, not sequestrating but rather recycling (releasing) the store of micronutrients in wood biomass, with the greatest potential contribution to soil nutrient cycles attributable to subterranean termites.