''Ahamitermes'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...

s in the family

Termitidae Termitidae is the largest family of termites whose members are commonly known as the higher termites. They are evolutionarily the most specialised termite group, with their highly compartmentalized hindgut lacking the flagellated protozoans comm ...

containing four species, all of which have a

parasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

relationship with termites in the genus ''

Coptotermes ''Coptotermes'' is a genus of termites in the family Rhinotermitidae. Many of the roughlty 71 species are economically destructive pests. The genus is thought to have originated in Southeast Asia. Worker termites from this genus forage undergrou ...

''. The

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People * Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

and the parasite dwell in separate parts of the mound nest and are mutually antagonistic. The ''Ahamitermes'' live in the innermost parts of the nest and feed on the "carton" material with which the galleries are lined which consists of soil particles, chewed wood and cellulose, bound together with saliva and faeces. They are thus dependent on their host for both their food and their home and are not found in any other situations. The genus was first described in 1920 by

Eric Mjöberg Eric Georg Mjöberg (6 August 1882 – 8 July 1938) was a Swedish zoologist and ethnographer who led the first Swedish scientific expeditions to Australia in the early 1900s, and worked in Indonesia. The plant ''Vaccinium mjoebergii'' J.J.Sm. was ...

Species

*''Ahamitermes nidicola'' Mjoberg - Queensland *''Ahamitermes hillii'' Nicholls - Southwestern Australia *''Ahamitermes inclusus'' Gay - Western Australia *''Ahamitermes pumilus'' Hill - New South Wales and Western Australia

References

Termite genera {{Termite-stub