Reticulitermes speratus Kolbe, 1885 栖北散白蚁

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 capsule rectangular, head-width index 0.63–0.72, lateral margins nearly parallel and slightly widening posteriorly, posterior margin broadly rounded. Frontal peaks slightly raised, nearly flat between the two peaks. Labrum ligulate, apex bluntly rounded, narrowly rounded in a few individuals; one pair of apical setae, subapical setae almost invisible, lateral apical setae absent. Mandibles slightly stout, apex slightly curved; mandible length 0.58–0.61 times head capsule length and 0.88–0.92 times head width. Antennae 15–16 segments. Broad region of the postmentum at the anterior fifth, anterior lateral margins nearly trapezoidal, the middle section slightly concave; waist region with nearly parallel margins, waist constriction index 0.33–0.38. Pronotum nearly trapezoidal, 1.5–1.66 times as wide as long, anterior and posterior margins nearly straight, anterior margin shallowly concave in the middle, posterior margin slightly concave in the middle; setae in the middle region sparse, about 4–8.

Alate

Head capsule dark chestnut brown, pronotum greyish yellow, postmentum, labrum, postclypeus and femora chestnut brown, tibiae greyish yellow, wings pale brown and semi-transparent. Head capsule circular and rather short, fontanelle a small dot, 0.51–0.53 mm from the anterior margin of the frons. Compound eyes nearly circular, protrusion 2–4%; distance from the compound eye to the lower margin of the head less than the long diameter of the compound eye. Ocelli nearly circular, ocellus–compound eye distance about equal to the short diameter of the ocellus. Antennae 16–17 segments. Dorsal margin of the head mound-shaped, postclypeus almost not projecting, lower than the vertex and higher than the ocelli. Pronotum about 1.6–1.65 times as wide as long, anterior margin nearly straight and shallowly notched in the middle, posterior margin formed by two intersecting arcs with a deeper notch. Forewing 7.04–7.26 mm long, 1.84–1.99 mm wide; hindwing 6.88–7.04 mm long, 1.84–1.91 mm wide; Cu vein with about 8–10 branches in each.

Worker

Nymph

Abstract (from the source)

Biology

Distribution and locality

Dandong and Dalian, Liaoning; coastal areas of Hebei; and Beijing and Tianjin.

Taxonomic notes

The genus name is printed as Reticuliter mes in the original work, a misspelling of Reticulitermes; the species is here placed in Reticulitermes.

Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 188 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.