Macrotermes annandalei Silvestri, 1914 土垄大白蚁

Recorded in Fauna Sinica

The morphological and biological accounts below are taken from Fauna Sinica and related literature; only structure and punctuation have been standardized here.

Morphology

Soldier

Major soldier: head dark reddish brown on both dorsum and venter, thorax and abdomen brown, the base of the mandibles concolorous with the head and the remainder black; hairs on the head extremely sparse, those on the abdomen more numerous. Head flattened and enormous, in dorsal view elongate-trapezoidal, broad behind and narrow in front, the posterior margin slightly curved or almost straight, the lateral margins very slightly curved. Postmentum narrow and elongate, curved towards the venter, fontanelle minute. Mandibles stout, sickle-shaped: the left mandible with several shallow incisions and one deeper one behind the midpoint, without teeth anteriorly; the right mandible toothless. Labrum ligulate, the tip semi-transparent. Antennae with 17 segments, segment 3 about 1.5 to 2 times the length of segment 2 and markedly shorter than segment 4. Pronotum slightly wider than half the head width, its anterior part inclined upwards, the lateral margins extending to the sides at an obtuse angle, the anterior and posterior margins both with distinct incisions in the middle, the metanotum narrower than the pronotum, legs very long. Minor soldier markedly smaller, similar in coloration, head narrower and more elongate, the postmentum markedly curved and projecting on the venter, mandibles narrow, elongate and curved, almost toothless, antennal segment 3 longer than segments 2 and 4, legs also very long.

Alate

Head, thorax and abdomen dark reddish brown, legs brownish yellow, wings yellow, postclypeus dark reddish yellow. Head broadly oval, compound eyes elongate-oval, ocelli elliptical, the distance between the ocelli and the compound eyes less than the width of the ocellus itself; vertex flat, fontanelle a very small granular projection situated at the midpoint of the vertex, with a keel-like longitudinal ridge in front of it; postclypeus markedly arched, length less than half the width, with a median longitudinal groove; antennae with 19 segments, segment 3 slightly longer than segment 2, segments 2, 4 and 5 equal in length. Anterior margin of the pronotum slightly concave backwards, the posterior margin narrow, concave forwards in the middle, with a pale cruciform patch in the anterior middle and round or kidney-shaped pale patches on both sides in front of it. Forewing scale slightly larger than the hindwing scale; media of the forewing arising independently at the humeral suture, closer to the cubitus than to the radius sector, branching after the midpoint, the cubitus of the forewing with more than ten branches; media of the hindwing arising from the base of the radius sector or independently at the humeral suture, running close to the cubitus and branching after the middle, the cubitus of the hindwing also with more than ten branches.

Worker

Nymph

Abstract (from the source)

Biology

Distribution and locality

In China recorded from Wuming, Longzhou and Fusui, Guangxi, and from Yingjiang, Manyun, Mangshi, Nujiangba, Nanxi and Yunjinghong (500 m above sea level), Puer (1300 m above sea level) and Changpotou, Jinping (1000 m above sea level), Yunnan; abroad recorded from Myanmar and Thailand.

Taxonomic notes

Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 294 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.