Termitidae is the largest

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 ...

s consisting of 2,125 described species of which are commonly known as the higher termites. They are evolutionarily the most specialised termite group, with their highly compartmentalized hindgut lacking the flagellated protozoans common to "lower termites", which are instead replaced by

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

and

archaea Archaea ( ) is a Domain (biology), domain of organisms. Traditionally, Archaea only included its Prokaryote, prokaryotic members, but this has since been found to be paraphyletic, as eukaryotes are known to have evolved from archaea. Even thou ...

. Whereas lower termites are restricted mostly to woody tissue, higher termites have diverse diets consisting of wood, grass,

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

, fungi, lichen, faeces, humus and soil. Around 60% of species rely on soil-feeding alone.

Systematics

The family contains the following subfamilies: : Family Termitidae Latreille, 1802 :: subfamily Sphaerotermitinae Engel &

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, 2004 :: subfamily Macrotermitinae Kemner, 1934, nomen protectum CZN 2003/small> (synonyms: Acanthotermitinae Sjöstedt, 1926, nomen rejiciendum CZN 2003 Odontotermitini Weidner, 1956) :: subfamily Foraminitermitinae Holmgren, 1912 (synonym: Pseudomicrotermitinae Holmgren, 1912) :: subfamily Apicotermitinae Grassé & Noirot, 1954 955/small> (synonym: Indotermitidae Roonwal & Sen Sarma in Roonwal, 1958) :: subfamily Microcerotermitinae Holmgren, 1910 :: subfamily Syntermitinae Engel & Krishna, 2004 (synonym: Cornitermitinae Ensaf et al., 2004, nomen nudum) :: subfamily Forficulitermitinae Hellemans, Engel, & Bourguignon, 2024 :: subfamily Engelitermitinae Romero Arias, Roisin, & Scheffrahn, 2024 :: subfamily Crepititermitinae Hellemans, Engel, & Bourguignon, 2024 :: subfamily Protohamitermitinae Hellemans, Engel, & Bourguignon, 2024 :: subfamily Cylindrotermitinae Hellemans, Engel, & Bourguignon, 2024 :: subfamily Neocapritermitinae Hellemans, Engel, & Bourguignon, 2024 :: subfamily

Nasutitermitinae The Nasutitermitinae is a near Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan subfamily of Termitidae, higher termites represented by 81 genera and 605 species. The highly derived soldier caste exhibits vestigial mandibles and a protruding Fontanellar ...

Hare, 1937 :: subfamily Promirotermitinae Hellemans, Engel, & Bourguignon, 2024 :: subfamily Mirocapritermitinae Kemner, 1934 :: subfamily Amitermitinae Kemner, 1934 :: subfamily Cubitermitinae Weidner, 1956 :: subfamily Termitinae Latreille, 1802 (synonyms: Mirotermitini Weidner, 1956; Capritermitini Weidner, 1956) Current phylogeny of the Termitidae:

Identification

Imago forewing and hindwing scales either evenly or closely sized and non-overlapping. Both forewing and hindwing scales have a developed suture with strongly sclerotized and reduced veins. Ocelli of imago typically (but not always) protruding above head capsule. Pronotum of all castes is "saddled", with a pronounced anterior lobe as a result of the pronotum's anterior corners being depressed. Postclypeus of the worker and imago both swollen and protruding from head capsule

References

Termites Blattodea families Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille {{termite-stub