Archives for Termite species

Pericapritermes

Pericapritermes is a genus of small termites in the Termitidae family. Originally there was just the genus Capritermes, but dozens of species are now recognized under Pericapritermes, distributed throughout the Orient, although originally they were once thought to be confined to the African continent. The soldiers are distinctive in having odd shaped, curved, and highly elongated mandibles with a very large head size relative to the body/abdomen size.
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Soldierless termites

There are termite species that do not have a soldier caste at all, and they are fairly well represented in tropical regions of the world, especially South America and Africa. These soldierless termites are so far only known from a couple of subfamilies in the large Termitidae family.
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Cryptotermes – Drywood termites

The drywood termite genus Cryptotermes from the Kalotermitidae family is distributed worldwide, originally from tropical-subtropical regions, but many species are now known to migrate far out of their native home range, via infested furniture and other wood pieces. For example, Cryptotermes cynocephalus native home range is in South East Asia, but has now been confirmed to have spread to Australia and even Hawaii.
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Subterranean Termites

Subterranean termites are termites whose mode of nesting is within soil. Termites have several modes of nesting, and soil nesting is the most common mode of nesting for many species. The other modes of nesting are arboreal nesting, mound nesting, and wood nesting. Soil nesting has many advantages for termites, and some species (typically from the Rhinotermitidae family) can be very adaptable in cohabiting with humans in human modified environments, like in urban and semi urban areas. This adaptability also puts them in conflict with humans.
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Microcerotermes

Microcerotermes is a genus of termite that often builds distinctive arboreal nests made of carton material, although there are subterranean and mound building species as well. Their nests can be a common sight in coconut plantations, and seen attached to tree trunks in rural areas. There are about 22 species with a worldwide distribution.
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Dicuspiditermes

Dicuspiditermes is a genus closely related to Pericapritermes but can be distinguished by the front of the head steeply sloping downward (in the soldier). It is only found in the Oriental region, and confined to forested areas. The genus is unique in that the soldiers look distinctive, having overly large heads in proportion to their body making them clumsy outside their nests, whilst their mandibles are highly elongated and odd-looking, and work by means of flicking off advancing ants in the close confines of their tunnels.
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The Nasutitermitinae termites

The Nasutitermitinae subfamily from the Termitidae family of termites is a very large category comprising many species spread throughout the Old and New World, of which there remains some species yet to be identified properly. However, all the Nasutitermitinae species can be recognized by their soldiers having a pointed snout at the front of their heads, called a nasus, and in virtually all species, the soldiers are smaller than the workers in terms of size. As a whole, they are mostly small termites.
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Coptotermes – The top subterranean termite pests

The Coptotermes genus have perhaps the most infamous termite species in the world. While there are many species in this genus, most of the differences between species are small, and can only be detected after careful examination with a microscope. Nonetheless, the Coptotermes termites can generally be distinguished from other termite species due to their appearance: Whitish colored workers, and soldiers with ovoid, orange heads, sharp mandibles, and pale body.
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The Macrotermes termites

The Macrotermes genus (subfamily Macrotermitinae) has some very interesting species of termites. They are the largest termite species of all, if you take into account the size of the queen, which can attain a length of nearly 6 inches (15 cm) in Macrotermes natalensis. There are about 330 species in the Macrotermes genus, spread out over tropical Africa and Asia.
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