Amitermes californicus Banks, 1920 (Isoptera, Termitidae, Termitinae) resurrected after ninety years of synonymy and A. floridensis Scheffrahn, 1989 synonymized into A. wheeleri (Desneux, 1906).

Amitermes californicus Banks, 1920 was described from southern California and southern Arizona but was later synonymized with A. wheeleri (Desneux, 1906) from Texas. Examination of material across the southwestern Nearctic and Mexico revealed that both are good species that are easily separated by the soldier mandibles. Amitermes floridensis Scheffrahn, 1989 is now a synonym of A. wheeleri. The establishment of A. wheeleri (=floridensis) in Florida is suggested to be the result of the ornamental palm trade from the southwestern United States. New collection records show that A. wheeleri has not been found in California.

Rhynchotermes armatus, a new mandibulate nasute termite (Isoptera, Termitidae, Syntermitinae) from Colombia.

Rhynchotermes armatus sp. nov. is described from soldiers and workers collected in the Magdalena River Valley of Colombia. Both castes of this new termite are superficially similar to R. perarmatus (Snyder) but the former are smaller, head capsules yellowish instead of reddish, and among additional characters, the soldier has narrower mandibles and marginal teeth.

A new species of Acorhinotermes Emerson, 1949 (Blattodea, Isoptera, Rhinotermitidae) from Colombia, with a key to Neotropical Rhinotermitinae species based on minor soldiers.

Acorhinotermes Emerson, 1949 is the only Neotropical Rhinotermitine genus with no major soldier. Herein Acorhinotermes claritae Castro & Scheffrahn, sp. nov. is described based on minor soldiers and an alate nymph collected in a secondary rain forest in the Colombian Amazon. The minor soldier of A. claritae Castro & Scheffrahn, sp. nov. has longer mandibular points and it is comparatively smaller than A. subfusciceps. An illustrated key to the minor soldiers of the Neotropical species of Rhinotermitinae is presented.

Roisinitermesebogoensis gen. & sp. n., an outstanding drywood termite with snapping soldiers from Cameroon (Isoptera, Kalotermitidae).

Termites have developed a wide array of defensive mechanisms. One of them is the mandibulate soldier caste that crushes or pierces their enemies. However, in several lineages of Termitinae, soldiers have long and slender mandibles that cannot bite but, instead, snap and deliver powerful strikes to their opponents. Here, we use morphological and molecular evidence to describe Roisinitermesebogoensis Scheffrahn, gen. & sp. n. from near Mbalmayo, Cameroon. Soldiers of R.ebogoensis are unique among all other kalotermitid soldiers in that they possess snapping mandibles. The imago of R.ebogoensis is also easily distinguished from all other Kalotermitidae by the lack of ocelli. Our study reveals a new case of parallel evolution of snapping mandibles in termites, a complex apparatus responsible of one of the fastest biological acceleration rates measured to date.

Described from images: The remarkable soldier of Procryptotermes dioscurae Harris (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) from Socotra Island.

Procryptotermes Holmgren is a modestly diverse kalotermitid genus endemic to numerous islands and archipelagos of the world's tropical oceans (Scheffrahn Krecek 2001). Mainland records from southern India (Bose 1979, Roonwal Chhotani 1963, Thakur 1975), Queensland Australia (Watson and Abbey 1993), and the Yucatan Peninsula (Scheffrahn and Krecek 2001), also approximate oceanic coastlines. The soldier of Procryptotermes is distinguished from most other kalotermitids by long, sickle-shaped mandibles and a rather weak or absent frontal flange or protuberance (Krishna 1961). The winged imago of Procryptotermes is similar to that of Cryptotermes Banks in which the median vein is unsclerotized and intersects the radial sector near mid-wing. Of the fourteen described species of Procryptotermes (Scheffrahn Krecek 2001), only one species, P. dioscurae Harris 1954, lacks a description of the soldier caste. It was described from three winged imagos collected from lights on Socotra Island, Yemen. Unlike soldiers, the imago caste is not present in the colony year round and often lacks species-level diagnostic characters. Therefore, the description of the soldier caste is highly desirable for most termite species.

Redescription and reclassification of the African termite, Forficulitermes planifrons (Isoptera, Termitidae, Termitinae).

Forficulitermes planifrons is a monotypic genus and species described by Emerson (1960) from three soldiers and a single worker. All known occurrences of Forficulitermes (Emerson 1960, Wango & Josens 2011, this study) originate from equatorial middle Africa. Emerson (1960) compared soldiers of Forficulitermes with Basidentitermes, Proboscitermes, Orthotermes, Profastigitermes, and Fastigitermes, (the latter all in the Cubitermitinae) with respect to the general shape of the labrum, but found no similarities among these genera with respect to either the former's mandibles or the undulating profile surrounding its fontanelle. The only worker morphology noted for F. planifrons by Emerson (1960) was a pair of worn mandibles. Based largely on the enteric valve armature, we herein redescribe F. planifrons and assign this genus to the subfamily Termitinae.

Polyethylene barrier impregnated with lambda-cyhalothrin for exclusion of subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) from structures.

Polyethylene film impregnated with lambda-cyhalothrin was placed over a sand plot and covered with a concrete slab to allow insecticide movement into the sand for a period of 5.5 yr. Discs of polyethylene film and sand beneath them were sampled annually for 5 yr and at 5.5 yr for bioassay with the Formosan and eastern subterranean termite. Results demonstrated that sufficient quantities of lambda-cyhalothrin were released from the impregnated polyethylene film into adjacent sand to prevent termite penetration. The impregnated film has less environmental impact than conventional liquid termiticides because the insecticide is held in the polymer. Other advantages include its dual function as a construction moisture barrier and ease in verifying its proper installation.

Resistance of insecticide-treated foam board insulation against the eastern subterranean termite and the Formosan subterranean termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae).

Three foam board types, one untreated control, one containing 2,000 ppm disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT), and one containing 1,000 ppm deltamethrin, were exposed to field populations of the eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), and the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. There was no significant difference in termite damage between foam boards treated with 2,000 ppm DOT and the untreated control. Form boards containing 1,000 ppm deltamethrin were not damaged by R. flavipes, whereas only minor damage occurred after exposure to C. formosanus.

Comparative metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analysis of hindgut paunch microbiota in wood- and dung-feeding higher termites.

Termites effectively feed on many types of lignocellulose assisted by their gut microbial symbionts. To better understand the microbial decomposition of biomass with varied chemical profiles, it is important to determine whether termites harbor different microbial symbionts with specialized functionalities geared toward different feeding regimens. In this study, we compared the microbiota in the hindgut paunch of Amitermes wheeleri collected from cow dung and Nasutitermes corniger feeding on sound wood by 16S rRNA pyrotag, comparative metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses. We found that Firmicutes and Spirochaetes were the most abundant phyla in A. wheeleri, in contrast to N. corniger where Spirochaetes and Fibrobacteres dominated. Despite this community divergence, a convergence was observed for functions essential to termite biology including hydrolytic enzymes, homoacetogenesis and cell motility and chemotaxis. Overrepresented functions in A. wheeleri relative to N. corniger microbiota included hemicellulose breakdown and fixed-nitrogen utilization. By contrast, glycoside hydrolases attacking celluloses and nitrogen fixation genes were overrepresented in N. corniger microbiota. These observations are consistent with dietary differences in carbohydrate composition and nutrient contents, but may also reflect the phylogenetic difference between the hosts.