Genus Speculitermes · 稀白蚁属

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) (the genus-level account of Speculitermes in the original book, reorganised and rewritten); the source keys and measurement tables are not reproduced here.

Morphology

Key characters

Soldier head nearly rectangular, the lateral margins slightly parallel; mandibles stout, broad at the base, each with a distinct tooth at the middle of the inner margin; antennae 14-segmented; pronotum saddle-shaped, tarsi 4-segmented, cerci 2-segmented.

Soldier

Soldier mandibles dark brown, the head yellowish brown, the labrum and antennae pale yellow, the pronotum dull yellow; long and short hairs are intermingled on the anterior half of the head. The outline of the head is nearly rectangular, the lateral margins roughly parallel. Labrum ligulate, broader than long. Mandibles strong, broad at the base, curved inwards at the apex, each with a distinct tooth at the middle of the inner margin. Postmentum long, the waist distinct. Antennae 14-segmented. Pronotum saddle-shaped. Tibial spur formula 3:2:2, tarsi 4-segmented.

Alate

Alate head densely hairy, oval, broader than long. Fontanelle large, oval. Compound eyes large, nearly circular and projecting; ocelli small, oval. The apical tooth of the mandibles is distinctly larger than the first marginal tooth, and the third marginal tooth of the left mandible meets the first marginal tooth at an angle. Antennae 15-segmented. Pronotum about as broad as the head capsule, or slightly narrower than the head. Tibial spur formula 3:2:2, tarsi 4-segmented.

Distribution

Its range spans two major zoogeographical realms, the Neotropical and the Oriental.

Summary

Speculitermes soldiers are yellowish brown with blackish mandibles and a nearly rectangular head whose sides are slightly parallel and whose front half bears mixed long and short hairs. The labrum is ligulate, wider than long; the stout mandibles have a broad base, an incurved apex and one distinct tooth on each inner margin. Antennae have fourteen segments, the pronotum is saddle-shaped, and the tibial spur formula is three to two to two.

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.