''Coptotermes'' 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 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 underground and move about in roofed tunnels that they build along the surface. In Australia, ''Coptotermes''

colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

sometimes host 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 ...

genus of termites, ''

Ahamitermes ''Ahamitermes'' is a genus of termites in the family Termitidae 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 org ...

''. The host and the parasite dwell in separate parts of the mound nest and are mutually antagonistic. The ''Ahamitermes'' species 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 hosts for both their food and their home and are not found in any other situations.

Species

This is an incomplete list of species: *''

Coptotermes acinaciformis ''Coptotermes acinaciformis'' is a species of subterranean termite in the family Rhinotermitidae native to Australia. Termites are social insects and build a communal nest. In the case of ''C. acinaciformis'', this is either in the root crown of ...

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Coptotermes brunneus ''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 ...

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Coptotermes ceylonicus ''Coptotermes ceylonicus'', is a species of subterranean termite of the genus ''Coptotermes''. It is native to India and Sri Lanka. It is a common wood destroying termites, which damage to logs, woodens structures of both natural and man-made. I ...

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Coptotermes curvignathus ''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 ...

'' Holmgren *''

Coptotermes elisae ''Coptotermes elisae'', the Papuan plantation termite, is a species of termite in the family Rhinotermitidae. It is native to New Guinea, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia, where it attacks and kills living trees and damages structural timbers. De ...

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Coptotermes emersoni ''Coptotermes emersoni'', is a species of subterranean termite of the genus ''Coptotermes''. It is native to India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. Though it is a wood destroying termite, it was first found from an electrical wire case in the National M ...

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Coptotermes formosanus The Formosan termite (''Coptotermes formosanus'') is a species of termite local to southern China and introduced to Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa, where it gets its name), Japan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Hawaii, and the continental United Sta ...

'' - Formosan subterranean termite *''

Coptotermes frenchi ''Coptotermes frenchi'', the Australian subterranean termite, is a species of termite in the family Rhinotermitidae. Termites are social insects and ''C. frenchi'' usually builds its communal nest in the root crown of a tree. From this, a networ ...

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Coptotermes gaurii ''Coptotermes gaurii'', is a species of subterranean termite of the genus ''Coptotermes''. It is native to South India and Sri Lanka. It is a serious pest of tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over ...

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Coptotermes gestroi ''Coptotermes gestroi'', the Asian subterranean termite is a small species of termite that lives underground. Both this species and the Formosan subterranean termite, (''Coptotermes formosanus'') are destructive pests native to Asia, but have sp ...

'' - Asian subterranean termite *''

Coptotermes havilandi ''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 ...

'' *''

Coptotermes heimi ''Coptotermes heimi'' is a species of termite in the family Rhinotermitidae. It is found in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and lives wholly underground. Distribution and habitat ''Coptotermes heimi'' occurs in Pakistan, the Indian states of Raj ...

'' *'' Coptotermes kalshoveni'' *''

Coptotermes lacteus ''Coptotermes lacteus'', the milk termite, is a species of termite in the family Rhinotermitidae, native to Australia. These termites are social insects and build a communal nest in the form of a mound. From this, a network of galleries extends t ...

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Coptotermes parvulus ''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 ...

'' Holmgren

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q11842491 Termite genera