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Taxonomy
Isoptera
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Termites are closely related to cockroaches based on a primitative termite species found in Australia. The fossil record suggests that termites have existed for approximately 200 million years. Isopterans are the oldest known social insect.
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Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Isoptera/ |
Isoptera consists of over 2600 species (mostly tropical). Termites are the oldest social insect group with complex societies dating back at least to the early Cretaceous (140 Mya). Only 12 species occur in Europe. Recent studies have shown that Isoptera are basically social cockroaches forming a monophyletic clade within the Blattodea, most likely the sister group of the Cryptocercidae (woodroaches) (Inward et al. 2007). Termites are the only hemimetabolous insects that exhibit true social behavior. They build large nests housing an entire colony. These colonies contain adult reproductives (one queen and one king) plus hundreds or thousands of immatures that serve as workers and soldiers. Termites are important decomposer animals in lowland tropical ecosystems. They mostly feed on dead plant material and are able to digest cellulose with the help of symbiotic gut symbionts.
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Rights holder/Author | Katja Schulz, Katja Schulz |
Source | http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/biorisk.4.68 |
About 2, 900 termites have been described worldwide. They undergo simple metamorphosis. They are eusocial insects and nymphs grow into one of the castes, where they will specialize in a job for the colony. A colony would consist of: a king, a queen, workers, and soldiers. The colony lives in nests, which are mostly built with saliva, mud, and soil. Nests are typically underground, but some can grow above the surface, with some of the tallest going thirty feet high. Termites have soft bodies that need to be kept moist and the nests provide the necessary protection and thermoregulation for the colony to survive. They frequently groom each other with their mouths. Termites feed on wood, leaf litter, or soil. They have bacteria in their gut, which aids with the digestion of cellulose. As detritivores, they play a huge role in nutrient cycling. They can be found in the fossil record as far back as the Late Triassic.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Rhianna Hruska, Rhianna Hruska |
Source | No source database. |
Feed on wood and other vegetable matter. Termitidae have symbiotic bacteria, other families have symbiotic flagellate protozoans that secrete enzymes that aid in the digestion of wood.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Tree of Life web project |
Source | http://tolweb.org/Isoptera/8212 |
Gut microbes digest cellulose: termites
Guts of termites digest cellulose via microbial symbionts.
"Termites do not digest cellulose directly…instead they collect vegetation, chew it up, and leave the chemical breakdown to other organisms. There are two strategies. The most primitive termites swallow the vegetation and pass it to a fermentation chamber where anaerobic bacteria and protozoa break down the cellulose…More advanced species have a different feeding strategy. The energy source is still cellulose, but it is digested outside the termite's body…Fungi is the only kingdom of organisms able to digest cellulose in air, though they need warmth and humidity to do the job efficiently." (Gould and Gould 2007:132-133)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Gould, James L; Gould, Carol Grant. 2007. Animal architects: building and the evolution of intelligence. New York: Basic Books. 324 p.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/4686fcf7b4f0583191e40f9518e496bf |
Derived characteristics:
- eusocial, with reproductives, soldiers, and workers of both sexes.
- wings with basal sutures allowing them to be shed
- external genitalia rudimentary or lacking
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Tree of Life web project |
Source | http://tolweb.org/Isoptera/8212 |
Mounds shed water: West African termites
Mounds of West African termites are built to shed water via mushroom-like shape.
"In West Africa and other areas where there is heavy rain, the colonies build nests like mushrooms with flat roofs which shed the water." (Attenborough 1979:100)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Attenborough, David. 1979. Life on Earth. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. 319 p.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/24080d802d040696d2ec2b4a6e1ea01e |
There are approximately 2,300 species of termites worldwide. Most live in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Others live in temperate regions of the world. Approximately 41 species of termites live in the United States, most of which live in the southwest.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Isoptera/ |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:3672
Specimens with Sequences:2413
Specimens with Barcodes:2103
Species:503
Species With Barcodes:394
Public Records:2057
Public Species:180
Public BINs:537
Isopterans are soft-bodied, usually light-colored insects. The forewings and hindwings are equal in length and held flat against the back of the termite.
Range length: 7.0 to 15.0 mm.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2012, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Isoptera/ |