''Reticulitermes'' is a

termite Termites are a group of detritivore, detritophagous Eusociality, eusocial cockroaches which consume a variety of Detritus, decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, Plant litter, leaf litter, and Humus, soil humus. They are dist ...

genus in the family

Heterotermitidae Heterotermitidae, or the subterranean termites, is a family of termites that was elevated to family level from the subfamily '' Heterotermitinae'', formerly nested in ''Rhinotermitidae Rhinotermitidae, sensu novo are a family (biology), family ...

. They are found in most

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

regions on Earth including much of

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, and all of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Caste descriptions

''Reticulitermes'' species have three general castes: reproductive, worker, and soldier.

Reproductive caste

In two ''Reticulitermes'' species, '' R. virginicus'' and '' R. speratus'', mother-son breeding systems have been found. This means their colony members are more related to their mothers than their fathers since 50% of their genotype comes from their mother and 50% from their father who also shares 50% of his genotype with their shared mother. This has shown to bias female alate production over males, likely because colony members favor caring for those who they are most related to (see

Kin Selection Kin selection is a process whereby natural selection favours a trait due to its positive effects on the reproductive success of an organism's relatives, even when at a cost to the organism's own survival and reproduction. Kin selection can lead ...

Worker caste

''Reticulitermes'' species have bifurcated development and so they have a true worker caste, although workers retain a high level of plasticity and can become

ergatoid An ergatoid (from Greek '' ergat-'', "worker" + '' -oid'', "like") is a permanently wingless reproductive adult ant or termite. The similar but somewhat ambiguous term ergatogyne refers to any intermediate form between workers and standard gyne ...

reproductives due to the hemimetabolic nature of most termites. Those who do not can either become soldiers or stay workers. Workers typically focus on brood care and general nest management.

Soldier caste

The soldier caste of most ''Reticulitermes'' defend the nest by either using their mandibles to attack invaders or by using their large heads to plug the entrances to their nests. They are most well known for their defensive abilities, though they are known to do many other tasks, such as aiding colony reproduction by accompanying alates and stimulating the production of supplementary reproductives. Like other termite soldiers, they are unable to feed themselves due to their large mandibles. Many species of ''Reticulitermes'' have sex biases in their soldier castes with significantly more female soldiers than males. Some species, like ''R. virginicus'', have next to no male soldiers at all. This is believed to be caused by the

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

in termites in which females have a larger size potential than males and the fact that soldiers need to be able to plug entrances with their large heads. However, in '' R. flavipes'', where there is no sexual dimorphism in the reproductive caste, there is also no sex bias in soldier production.

Distribution

In Europe

Reticulitermes flavipes ''Reticulitermes flavipes'', the eastern subterranean termite, is the most common termite found in North America. These termites are the most economically important wood destroying insects in the United States and are classified as Pest (organism ...

'' (former santonensis) is found in western France, '' Reticulitermes grassei'' in southwestern France, northwestern and southern Spain and Portugal, '' Reticulitermes banyulensis'' in the Roussillon region of France and '' Reticulitermes lucifugus'' in the Provence region. The subspecies, '' Reticulitermes lucifugus corsicus'' is found in Corsica and Sardinia. '' Reticulitermes urbis'', a newly described species is found in urban zones in the southeast of France (Marseille in the west to Italy in the east).

In Asia

'' Reticulitermes clypeatus'' is found in Middle East.
'' Reticulitermes lucifugus'' is found in Turkey.
'' Reticulitermes chinensis'', '' Reticulitermes guangzhouensis'', '' Reticulitermes leptomandibularis'' and '' Reticulitermes khaoyaiensis'' are found in China.
'' Reticulitermes kanmonensis'' Korea, China and Japan.
'' Reticulitermes amamianus'', '' Reticulitermes speratus'', '' Reticulitermes miyatakei'', '' Reticulitermes okinawanus'' and '' Reticulitermes yaeyamanus'' are found in Japan.
'' Reticulitermes arenincola'' is found in India.
'' Reticulitermes speratus'' is also found in all place in South Korea as well as Japan and North Korea

In North America

The eastern subterranean termite (''

'') is the most widely distributed termite found in the eastern United States. ''R. flavipes'' is commonly found in southern Ontario, and is found in all the eastern states including Texas, extending as far south as Mexico City and as far west as Arizona, with likely accidental introductions on the west coast of the US. Other termites found there are the dark southeastern subterranean termite ('' Reticulitermes virginicus'') and the light southeastern subterranean termite ('' Reticulitermes hageni''). These are less important economically (such as in damage to crops) because of their more limited range. Other termites species are found: '' Reticulitermes hesperus'' in California; '' Reticulitermes malletei'' in Mississippi; '' Reticulitermes nelsonae'' in Louisiana and Florida.

In medical research

The extended longevity of

social insect Eusociality (Ancient Greek, Greek 'good' and social) is the highest level of organization of sociality. It is defined by the following characteristics: cooperative Offspring, brood care (including care of offspring from other individuals), ove ...

queens is of interest because it implies the presence of an anti-aging mechanism. Long-lived queens of ''Reticulitermes speratus'' have markedly less oxidative damage to their DNA than non-reproductive individuals (workers, soldiers and nymphs). Queens have more than twice the

catalase Catalase is a common enzyme found in nearly all living organisms exposed to oxygen (such as bacteria, plants, and animals) which catalyzes the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen. It is a very important enzyme in protecting ...

activity and seven times higher levels of expression of the catalase gene ''RsCAT1'' than workers, soldiers and nymphs. Catalase catalyzes the decomposition the

reactive oxygen species In chemistry and biology, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive chemicals formed from diatomic oxygen (), water, and hydrogen peroxide. Some prominent ROS are hydroperoxide (H2O2), superoxide (O2−), hydroxyl ...

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...

, and protects against

oxidative stress Oxidative stress reflects an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage. Disturbances in the normal ...

. It appears that the extended

longevity Longevity may refer to especially long-lived members of a population, whereas ''life expectancy'' is defined Statistics, statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age. For example, a population's life expectancy at birth ...

of ''R. speratus'' queens is partially explained by their efficient

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

capability.

References

External links

{{Authority control Termite genera