Macrotermes trimorphus Li & Ping, 1983 三型大白蚁

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 and thoracic and abdominal tergites almost brownish yellow, antennae and legs pale brownish yellow, mandibles black; about ten erect setae around the margin of the labrum, two on the postclypeus, sparse on the thoracic tergites and rather dense on the abdomen. Head nearly rectangular, the posterior margin rather straight; the inner margin of the left mandible near the middle with serrations that become coarser towards the base; labrum slightly wider than long apart from the transparent tip, the transparent tip pointed and broadly blunt; the anterior part of the postmentum slightly broad, parallel below the waist; antennae with 17 segments, segment 3 1.5 to 2 times segment 2; fontanelle slightly in front of the middle, dot-like and indistinct. The anterior and posterior margins of the pronotum both concave in the middle, the posterior margin of the mesonotum slightly concave, that of the metanotum almost straight; pronotum widest and mesonotum narrowest, the lateral angles of all three thoracic segments with distinct angular lobes. Medium soldier: coloration like the major soldier but paler; head broadly oval, widest slightly behind the middle; mandibles rather slender and straight with the apex slightly incurved; anterior margin of the pronotum without an incision and the posterior margin slightly concave. Minor soldier: like the medium soldier but paler still; mandibles more slender and rather straight; labrum elongate-leaf-shaped; antennae with 17 segments, segment 2 longer than segment 3, segment 4 shortest.

Alate

Worker

Major worker: head reddish brown, antennae, thoracic and abdominal tergites pale brown, legs yellowish white, a few setae scattered on the head; the lateral and posterior margins of the head forming a semicircle, widest at the middle; postclypeus strongly raised, divided into two halves by a brown median longitudinal suture; fontanelle slightly in front of the centre, a pale white triangular pit; antennae with 17 to 19 segments, segment 2 equal to or slightly longer than segment 3, segment 4 or 5 shortest; the anterior half of the pronotum standing erect and tilted upwards almost at right angles to the posterior half, the posterior incision broad and deep, the anterior margin slightly concave; posterior margin of the mesonotum slightly concave, that of the metanotum almost straight; the lateral angles of the prothorax with slight angular projections, those of the mesothorax and metathorax almost arcuate. Medium worker: head pale reddish brown, antennae with 17 segments, segment 2 longer than segment 3, segment 5 shortest, otherwise similar to the major worker. Minor worker: head pale yellow, antennae with 17 segments, segment 2 sometimes twice the length of segment 3, segment 3 shortest, the pronotum slightly narrower than the mesonotum and the metanotum widest.

Nymph

Abstract (from the source)

Biology

Distribution and locality

Longzhou, Guangxi.

Taxonomic notes

Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 315 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.