Hodotermitidae
| Hodotermitidae | |
|---|---|
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| H. mossambicus worker | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Isoptera |
| Family: |
Hodotermitidae Desneux, 1904 |
| Genera | |
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The harvester termites are an ancient, Old World family of termites, Hodotermitidae. They are distinguished by the serrated inner edge of their mandibles, and their functional compound eyes which are present in all castes. They forage for grass at night and during daylight hours, and pigmented workers are often observed outside the nest. Their range includes the deserts and savannas of Africa, the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Their English name refers to their habit of collecting grass, which is not unique to the family, though.
The family consists of three extant genera and some 18 to 19 species.Anacanthotermes is found in deserts and semideserts of North Africa, the Middle East and Southwest Asia, including Baluchistan and southern India. Hodotermes has a vast range from Palaearctic North Africa, through the East African savannas to the karroid regions of southern Africa.Microhodotermes is a genus of desert specialists in the Namib, Kalahari and Karoo, where their ranges overlap with Hodotermes.
Though the dampwood termites are sometimes included with the harvester termites, they are generally viewed as distinct lineages which merely retain plesiomorphies of the more basal Isoptera.
They nest by excavating in the soil, unlike the Termopsidae and Kalotermitidae. In the case of Hodotermes mossambicus, the diffuse subterranean system of spherical hives may be located from near the surface to more than 6 m deep. The hives may be 60 cm wide and are interconnected by galleries. Loose particles of excavated soil are brought to the surface and dumped at various points around the nest. Colonies of Microhodotermes viator produce initially small, conical mounds on soil with sufficient clay content.
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Wikipedia