Genus Nasutitermes · 象白蚁属

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 Nasutitermes, reorganised and rewritten); the source keys and measurement tables are not reproduced here.

Morphology

Key characters

Soldier head circular or elongate oval, the nasus projecting from the front of the frons as a tube or a cone, the middle of the head not constricted, no constriction behind the antennal sockets, mandibles minute and labrum very short, soldiers generally monomorphic; alate entirely dark.

Soldier

Soldier head capsule circular or elongate oval, the nasus projecting from the front of the frons, either tubular or conical, narrow anteriorly and broad posteriorly, the middle of the head not constricted. The junction of the vertex and the nasus straight, or slightly concave. No constriction behind the antennal sockets. Mandibles minute, their anterior lateral corners obtusely rounded, or produced into sharp points. Antennal segments not very long. Labrum very short. Soldiers of this genus generally of a single size.

Alate

Alate entirely dark. Head broadly oval, postclypeus paler in colour, its width several times its length, fontanelle small, mostly elongate and forked. Antennal segments not much elongated. The incisions of the posterior margins of the mesonotum and metanotum are both fairly wide. Forewing scale and hindwing scale similar in size, radius absent, media very close to the cubitus.

Distribution

Neotropical, Nearctic, Afrotropical, Oriental and Australian Regions; rather many species in southern China.

Summary

Nasutitermes soldiers have a round or long oval head with a tubular or cone-shaped nasus arising from the front of the frons; the head is not constricted at the middle and the junction of vertex and nasus is flat or slightly concave. There is no constriction behind the antennal sockets. The mandibles are minute, their anterolateral corners blunt or produced into points, and the labrum is very short. Soldiers are usually monomorphic. Alates are dark, with 15-segmented antennae. The genus is widespread in warm 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.