Genus Microtermes · 小白蚁属

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) (generic description in the original book's section on Microtermes, reorganised and rewritten); the source keys and measurement tables are not reproduced here.

Morphology

Key characters

Soldier body colour pale, head elongate oval, narrow anteriorly and broad posteriorly, the vertex raised like a dome in lateral view, antennae with fourteen segments, the middle of both the anterior and the posterior margins of the pronotum concave; alate with fifteen antennal segments, ocelli rather large, compound eyes round and raised.

Soldier

Soldier head capsule and labrum pale yellow, mandibles reddish brown, antennae milky white, pronotum, abdomen and legs nearly milky white. Head densely covered with fine short hairs, the labrum with both apical hairs and long and short hairs. Head elongate oval, narrowed anteriorly and widened posteriorly, the middle of the vertex raised like a dome in lateral view. Labrum mostly lanceolate; the middle of the left mandible slightly arched, with small teeth before the basal tooth; the right mandible slightly more slender than the left; postmentum widest at the middle; antennae with fourteen segments. The middle of both the anterior and the posterior margins of the pronotum concave.

Alate

Alate head brown with a faint smoky tinge, postclypeus yellow, labrum pale brown with a milky white apex, antennae yellowish brown. Head surface haired, the labrum with several long hairs near the apex, the rest short, the pronotum densely covered with short hairs. Head nearly circular, fontanelle small and round, compound eyes raised like round domes, ocelli rather large, labrum arched and slightly wider than long, the first marginal tooth of the mandible close to the tooth apex, antennae with fifteen segments. Pronotum slightly narrower than the head, the middle of both the anterior and the posterior margins slightly concave.

Distribution

Oriental and Afrotropical Regions; a tropical and subtropical group, with several species in southern China.

Summary

Microtermes soldiers are pale, with a long oval head that narrows in front and widens behind, the vertex humped in profile. The labrum is mostly spear-shaped, the left mandible is slightly arched with a small tooth before the basal tooth, and the right mandible is a little narrower. Antennae are 14-segmented and both margins of the pronotum are medially concave. Alates are brown, with 15-segmented antennae. The genus occurs in the Oriental and Ethiopian regions.

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.