''Prorhinotermes simplex'', the Cuban subterranean termite, is a species of lower
termite in the genus ''
Prorhinotermes
''Prorhinotermes'' is a genus of termites belonging to the family Rhinotermitidae.
The species of this genus are found in Malesia and Australia.
Species:
*'' Prorhinotermes canalifrons''
*'' Prorhinotermes flavus''
*'' Prorhinotermes hainanen ...
''. It is found in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. Like others in its genus, it is a single-site nesting termite that moves to a new food source when theirs is gone, and it lacks a true worker caste.
Caste
Like all other members of ''Prorhinotermes'', ''P. simplex'' lacks a true worker caste (meaning permanently sterile workers) and has a linear
ontogenetical pathway with a single
nymphal instar.
Soldiers typically arise from the late larval stage in mature colonies and can be identified from their marked wing rudiments.
Each of their two molts from larva to soldier adds an antennae segment, and they contain a lot of the chemicals
(E)-1-nitropentadecene and (''Z'',''E'')-α-
Farnesene. They make up from 7-22% of each colony's population. They typically guard inside the nest, but they will come out as defenders if the nest is moved.
Soldiers have been found to evacuate eggs when their nests are disturbed as well.
Microbiome
A type of excavate, named ''
Cthulhu macrofasciculumque'' after the creature
Cthulhu has been found in these termites' guts to allow for their
digestion of wood
Xylophagy is a term used in ecology to describe the habits of an herbivorous animal whose diet consists primarily (often solely) of wood. The word derives from Greek ''ξυλοφάγος'' (''xulophagos'') "eating wood", from ''ξύλον'' (') ...
, as termites and all other species in
Animalia lack the ability to harvest nutrients from wood using their own anatomy.
References
Arthropods of Colombia
Termites
Insects described in 1858
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