Genus Euhamitermes · 亮白蚁属

Fauna Sinica account

The account below is a reorganized and rewritten adaptation of the genus-level description in Fauna Sinica, Insecta Vol. 17, Isoptera (2000) (genus-level account reorganised and rewritten from the Euhamitermes section of the original book); the source keys and measurement tables are not reproduced here.

Morphology

Key characters

Soldier head capsule between rectangular and square; mandibles stout and short, strongly curved like hooks, with a small tooth at the middle of the inner margin; pronotum strongly saddle-shaped; spur formula 3:2:2, tarsi 4-segmented; soldiers are not easily collected.

Soldier

Soldier head capsule intermediate between rectangular and square. Mandibles stout and short, strongly curved like hooks, with a small tooth at the middle of the inner margin. Pronotum strongly saddle-shaped. Spur formula 3:2:2, tarsi 4-segmented. Because colonies are small and often lack soldiers, specimens are not easily obtained.

Biology and economic significance

Euhamitermes live underground beside grass roots and feed on decaying plant material; colonies are small and mostly lack soldiers, so identification is quite difficult. The species of this genus are rather secretive in their activity, and specimens often have to be obtained by digging.

Distribution

Oriental region; 24 species are known worldwide, 13 in China, with Yunnan accounting for about half of the national total.

Summary

Euhamitermes soldiers have a head intermediate between rectangular and quadrate, short thick mandibles that curve strongly like hooks and bear a single small tooth at mid-length of the inner margin, and a strongly saddle-shaped pronotum. The tibial spur formula is three to two to two with four tarsal segments. Colonies are small and often lack soldiers, which makes specimens hard to obtain and the species difficult to identify. The genus lives underground near grass roots and feeds on decaying plant material.

Sources cited: Huang Fusheng, Zhu Shimo, Ping Zhengming, Wang Zhiguo, Li Can and Xu Chungui, 2000. Fauna Sinica, Insecta Vol. 17, Isoptera. Beijing: Science Press. This text is a reorganized adaptation, not a verbatim transcription.