Family Kalotermitidae - Drywood and Dampwood Termites

Classification · Numbers · Food · Remarks · Works Cited

It has wings but I haven’t seen it fly - Incisitermes minor

Incisitermes schwarzi - Neotermes jouteli

Incisitermes arizonensis, pseudergate - Incisitermes arizonensis

Incisitermes minor queen - Incisitermes minor - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Blattodea (Cockroaches and Termites)

Superfamily Blattoidea

No Taxon (Epifamily Termitoidae - Termites)

Family Kalotermitidae (Drywood and Dampwood Termites)

Numbers

18 spp. in 8 genera in our area(1), ~450 spp. in 21 genera worldwide(2)

Food

These termites have symbiotic flagellates in their rectum; these flagellates are lost when the insect molts and they are regained from the anal fluid of other individuals in the colony. The production of this fluid is stimulated when a termite touches the perianal region of another with its antennae. The fluid may also have direct nutritional value.(3)

Remarks

These termites often leave little sign of their presence inside wood.

Species known to occur in NA:

Calcaritermes Snyder 1933: nearcticus (Snyder 1933)

Cryptotermes Banks 1906: brevis (Walker 1853), cavifrons Banks 1906

Incisitermes Krishna 1961: arizonensis (Snyder 1926), banksi (Snyder 1920), fruticavus Rust 1979, milleri (Emerson 1943), minor (Hagen 1858), schwarzi (Banks 1920), snyderi (Light 1933)

Kalotermes Hagen 1853: approximatus Snyder 1920

Marginitermes Krishna 1961: hubbardi (Banks 1920)

Neotermes Holmgren 1911: castaneus (Burmeister 1839), jouteli (Banks 1920), luykxi Nickle and Collins 1989

Paraneotermes Light 1937: simplicicornis (Banks 1920)

Pterotermes Holmgren 1911: occidentis (Walker 1853)

Works Cited

1.	American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.

2.	Constantino R. (2002-2012) On-line termite database

3.	The Insects : Structure and Function R. F. Chapman. 1998. Cambridge University Press.

Contributed by Eric R. Eaton on 6 July, 2007 - 4:15pm
Additional contributions by v belov, John Carlson, Marci Hess, 2R R R
Last updated 24 September, 2023 - 9:38am

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