Genus Tarditermes · 慢白蚁属

Morphology

The descriptions below are an adaptation of the original genus-level accounts; terms follow the meaning of the source, and the original is not transcribed verbatim.

Diagnostic characters

In the alate the apical tooth of the left mandible is extremely long (Emerson gives the index as 2.91, Sands as 3.17, the two accounts disagreeing), the second marginal tooth is absent, the molar plate has no transverse ridges, the postclypeus is 2.1 times as wide as long, the fontanelle is a pale round spot, the compound eyes project slightly beyond the sides of the head, and the pronotum is nearly semicircular; the soldier is monomorphic, the nasus long and thick, conical, reaching the large fontanelle at its tip, the mandibles without a point, the anterior margin of the labrum wavy, the head capsule unconstricted, broadly rectangular with rounded corners in dorsal view and wider than long up to the base of the nasus, the antennae 13-segmented, setae present only at the tip of the nasus and as scattered microtrichia; in the worker the molar plate has a weak concavity near the base, the anterior and posterior rounded ridges more marked (index 3.23). Sands notes that its alate is larger than all nasute allied genera except the Neotropical Angularitermes, and that its closest relative is Mimeutermes; the generic name derives from its extremely sluggish movement.

Alate

The head, postclypeus and pronotum bear fairly dense short hairs, though not forming a felt; several setae occur on the margins of the head, postclypeus and pronotum. The wing membrane is densely covered with short hairs, longer than on the wings of most termites. Each abdominal tergite is densely covered with short hairs and bears a row of posterior marginal setae, each about three times the length of the short hairs; the pilosity of the sternites is denser and slightly longer than that of the tergites. The head is broad, the sides nearly parallel near the compound eyes; the compound eyes are large and convex, separated from the lower margin of the head by about one-seventh to one-tenth of their diameter; the ocelli are fairly large, smaller than the antennal fossae, separated from the compound eyes by slightly less than their width; the fontanelle is a small pale round spot in the middle of the head; the postclypeus bears a dark median line and is slightly more than twice as wide as long; the antennae are 14–15-segmented. The apical tooth of each mandible is extremely long and the cutting edge behind the first marginal tooth reduced; the left mandibular index is 2.91; the right mandible has no second marginal tooth. The pronotum is large, slightly narrower than the head, its lateral margins rounded and its posterior margin slightly concave; the median angle of the mesonotum is rounded, about 130°; tibial spur formula 2:2:2. Measurements: head width 1.28–1.35 mm, diameter of compound eye 0.41–0.42 mm, forewing 10.15–11.48 mm.

Soldier

The head and frontal projection bear microtrichia visible only in good light; there are no setae except near the tip of the frontal projection; the pronotum bears a few short hairs and no setae. The head is fairly large and broad, the conical frontal projection thick at its base; the head capsule is unconstricted. Antennae 13-segmented, segments 2 and 3 about equal in length, segment 4 slightly shorter than segment 3. The mandibles are without a point. The pronotum is fairly broad, its anterior margin not concave or only very shallowly so, the anterior region fairly large. Head length 2.41–2.65 mm, width 1.25–1.49 mm, hind tibia 1.12–1.19 mm.

Worker

The mandibles are as in the alate, except that the molar plate of the right mandible has a weak concavity near the base and the anterior and posterior rounded ridges are more marked; left mandibular index 3.23.

Sources: Sands, W.A. 1965. A revision of the termite subfamily Nasutitermitinae (Isoptera, Termitidae) from the Ethiopian Region. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Entomology, Supplement 4: 1–172., p. 166（Genus Tarditermes: Imago, Soldier, Worker）；Emerson 1960: p. 15–19（原始描述，毛被与测量） This text is an adaptation, not a verbatim transcription of the original.