Nasopilotermes jiangxiensis He, 1988 江西棘象白蚁

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

Soldier large. Head brownish yellow mottled with red, the nasus dark brown, antennae paler than the head; anterior lobe of the pronotum brownish yellow, the posterior lobe slightly paler, mesonotal and metanotal and abdominal tergites deep yellow, legs yellow. The dorsum of the head and the nasus densely covered with fine short hairs, the dorsum of the pronotum hairless with short hairs sparsely arranged along the margins, the abdominal tergites with scattered small hairs. Head nearly circular, widest about the middle, wider than long (excluding the nasus), the posterior margin deeply concave in the middle, not contracted below and behind the antennal sockets, slightly swollen where the base of the nasus meets the dorsum of the head. In lateral view the dorsum of the head slightly raised only at the posterior end, extending flat from the middle to the tip of the nasus, the nasus about half as long as the head length including the nasus and shorter than the head width. Antennae with 13 segments, segment 3 longer than segment 4, segment 2 shortest. Mandibles without a pointed spine, the sides of the postmentum contracted into a waist near the middle, the posterior part broad and widest near the posterior end. Pronotum saddle-shaped, the anterior lobe vertical and rather short, the anterior margin slightly concave in the middle, the middle of the posterior margin projecting without a notch. Abdomen slender, the hind legs extending beyond the abdominal apex, tibial spur formula 2:2:2, tarsi 4-segmented. Small individual: head almost bare, with only a few short hairs at the tip of the nasus, head broadly circular, the nasus a round tube with the end slightly turned upwards, a small projection on each side at the base of the nasus, antennae with 13 to 14 segments, the apical teeth of the mandibles blunt and indistinct.

Alate

Worker

Workers vary slightly in size, with no distinct dimorphism observed. Larger individuals have 14 antennal segments, a yellow head and a distinct Y-shaped suture on the head; smaller individuals have 13 antennal segments, a white head mottled with pale yellow, and a faintly visible Y-shaped suture. In both forms the posterior margin of the apical tooth of the left and right mandibles is longer than the anterior margin of the first marginal tooth; in the left mandible the second marginal tooth is fused with the posterior margin of the first, and the anterior and posterior margins of the third marginal tooth are almost equal in length; in the right mandible the distance between the apical tooth and the first marginal tooth is shorter than that between the first and second marginal teeth, the posterior margins of the first and second marginal teeth are nearly equal in length, and the posterior margin of the second marginal tooth is rather straight. Tibial spur formula 2:2:2, tarsi 4-segmented.

Nymph

Abstract (from the source)

Biology

Distribution and locality

Jiulianshan, Jiangxi.

Taxonomic notes

The original work placed this species in the genus Pilotermes; this site now assigns it to the genus Nasopilotermes.

Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 402 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.