Reticulitermes fukienensis Light, 1924 花胸散白蚁

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

Head yellowish brown, mandibles purplish brown, the pilosity of the head capsule moderate. The head capsule is rectangular, the head width index 0.54–0.60, the sides parallel and slightly narrowed behind the antennal sockets, the posterior margin broadly rounded. The frontal ridge is raised, broad and flat between the ridges. The labrum is spear-shaped, the apex projecting triangularly, the apical hairs present, the subapical hairs minute, the lateral-apical hairs absent. The apices of the mandibles are slender and pointed and rather strongly curved, the curved part rather long, the length 0.50–0.60 of the head capsule length and 0.93–0.97 of the head width. Antennae with 15–16 segments. The broad region of the postmentum lies at the anterior one-fifth, the anterolateral margins trapezoidal, the middle slightly concave, the waist region broad and long with the two sides in a broad arc, the length of the postmentum about six to seven times the width of the waist, the waist constriction index 0.39–0.44. The pronotum is about 1.46–1.59 times as wide as long, the anterior margin nearly straight, the middle of the posterior margin shallowly concave, with about forty hairs in the middle region.

Alate

Dealate adult head capsule chestnut brown, the pronotum yellowish brown with several brown spots scattered over it, the labrum and postclypeus pale brown, the postmentum brown, the femoral segments pale brown, the tibiae pale yellowish brown. The head capsule is long-oval, the fontanelle dot-like, 0.51 mm from the anterior frontal margin. The compound eyes are nearly circular, the projection rate 3–5 per cent, the distance from the compound eye to the lower margin of the head slightly greater than the short diameter of the compound eye and comparable to the long diameter. The ocelli are nearly circular, the long diameter slightly greater than the ocellus-compound eye distance. The antennae of the specimens are broken off, the number of segments unknown. The dorsal margin of the head is rather gently sloping in front of the fontanelle, the postclypeus hardly projecting at all, lower than the vertex and higher than the ocelli. The pronotum is 1.44–1.48 times as wide as long, the anterior margin nearly straight, the middle of the posterior margin shallowly concave.

Worker

Nymph

Abstract (from the source)

Biology

Distribution and locality

Changzhuyuan, Shangcheng, Henan, 1,230 m a.s.l.

Taxonomic notes

The genus name is defective in the original work, printed as Reticuliter mes; it is in fact the genus Reticulitermes, the same genus name as currently used on this site.

Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 168 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.