Genus Hodotermopsis · 原白蚁属
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Distribution map
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About the genus
This genus belongs to the family Hodotermopsidae 原白蚁科; the site records 1 species.
Type species: Hodotermopsis sjostedti.
This page includes a distribution map for the genus (GBIF records aggregated on a 1° grid); open a species entry to see its type locality, distribution, and references.
Etymology
From Greek hodos (path) + -termopsis.
The etymologies in this section are analytical breakdowns; the roots follow Brown (1956).
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 Hodotermopsis section of the original book); the source keys and measurement tables are not reproduced here.
Morphology
Key characters
Soldier with a broad, flat, nearly circular head capsule, the posterior and lateral margins arcuate; antennae up to 24-segmented; compound eyes distinct; mandibles stout and strongly curved, the left with four marginal teeth, the right with three; pronotum flat, slightly narrower than the head.
Soldier
Soldier with a broad, flat head, nearly circular in outline, the posterior and lateral margins arcuate. Antennae with many segments, up to 24; compound eyes clearly visible. Mandibles strong, strongly curved, the tooth row well developed, the left mandible with four marginal teeth, the right with three. Pronotum flat, slightly narrower than the head capsule, its anterior margin slightly concave. The hind tibia bears two lateral spines in addition to the four apical spurs, while the fore and mid tibiae lack lateral spines. Cerci 4–6-segmented.
Biology and economic significance
Hodotermopsis mainly attacks primary and secondary forest, boring into living standing trees and also feeding on stumps, and in severe cases invading dwellings and historic buildings. It mostly inhabits moist forest and feeds on timber containing moisture, hence the name dampwood termite.
Summary
Hodotermopsis soldiers have a broad, flattened, nearly circular head with rounded margins, antennae of up to twenty-four segments, and visible compound eyes. The stout, strongly curved mandibles carry four marginal teeth on the left and three on the right. The pronotum is flat and slightly narrower than the head. The hind tibia bears two lateral spurs besides four apical ones, while the fore and mid tibiae lack lateral spurs. The genus is a dampwood termite damaging trees, stumps and old buildings.
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.
Literature notes
Edited notes based on the original literature, not transcriptions. The source markers in each paragraph point to archived records in .sources; full citations are listed below.
Change of family placement
According to the abstract, Wang et al. (2022) reconstructed the phylogeny of Teletisoptera (Stolotermitidae + Hodotermitidae + Archotermopsidae) from the nuclear rRNA genes and mitochondrial genomes of 27 samples, confirmed the monophyly of Teletisoptera and elevated Hodotermopsinae (containing only Hodotermopsis) to Hodotermopsidae (status novum); this site follows that family placement, and older literature placing the genus in Archotermopsidae should be cited as "then placed in Archotermopsidae, placed in Hodotermopsidae since 2022".
References
Species (1)
- Hodotermopsis sjostedti Holmgren, 1911 山林原白蚁 ★ Type species
Parent level: Checklist index · Hodotermopsidae 原白蚁科 · Data & downloads