Stylotermes changtingensis Fan & Xia, 1981 长汀杆白蚁

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 of the soldier reddish brown, labrum pale brownish yellow, mandibles purplish black, eye spots greyish white, the posterior part of the third antennal segment brown and the remaining segments pale yellow; the pronotum faintly brown about its margins, thorax, abdomen and legs pale brownish yellow. Head capsule rectangular, the sides nearly parallel, the posterior margin a weak arc. Labrum almost circular, slightly wider than long, the apical margin bearing a row of about ten long hairs. Apex of the mandibles not strongly curved, the outer margin with a small notch near the base; the left mandible about 0.64 of the head capsule length. Antennae 14–15 segments, usually the second the shortest, the third distinctly longer and second only to the first. Eye spots circular, large and slightly projecting. Fontanelle a small circular dot at one-quarter of the head capsule from the front, its margin raised like a hillock. Postmentum slender and long, the widest part about twice the narrowest, the waist long and nearly parallel-sided. Pronotum broad and very flat, the anterior margin deeply incised in a V, the middle of the posterior margin with a shallow incision, the sides rather straight and converging posteriorly, the median longitudinal line absent.

Alate

Head of the alate reddish brown, labrum yellow, mandibles concolorous with the head; ocelli pale yellow and transparent, compound eyes purplish brown; antennae yellow; pronotum brown with a brownish tinge, thorax and abdomen yellowish brown and paler ventrally; wings rather transparent and cream-coloured, the costa and radial sector rather strongly sclerotised and appearing brown. Head circular, compound eyes nearly circular and projecting from the sides of the head. Antennae 17–18 segments, the first rather long, the third distinctly short and slender, the fourth again larger. Ocelli melon-seed-shaped, the distance to the compound eye smaller than their diameter. Fontanelle dot-like, situated at the centre of the vertex. Pronotum an inverted trapezium, the notch of the anterior margin broad and shallow, the anterior corners narrowly rounded, the lateral margins slightly arched outwards and almost forming a semicircle with the posterior margin, which has no distinct incision. Wings narrow and long, the part extending beyond the end of the abdomen about half the wing length; in the forewing the radial sector runs very close and parallel to the costa, the media arises independently at the humeral suture, and many weak branches connect the two.

Worker

Nymph

Abstract (from the source)

Biology

Specimens collected from Chinese sweetgum (Liquidambar formosana).

Distribution and locality

Changting, Fujian.

Taxonomic notes

Source: Huang Fusheng et al. (2000), Fauna Sinica, Insecta vol. 17, Isoptera, Science Press. (entry no. 221 in the original work) Entries are cited by their number in the original work.