Macrotermitinae

Macrotermitinae
Structure of a Macrotermes natalensis mound
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Superorder: Dictyoptera
Order: see text
Family: Termitidae
Subfamily: Macrotermitinae
Kemner, 1934
Genera

14, see text

Macrotermitinae constitute a subfamily of the harvester termites and allies (family Termitidae). The termites are traditionally classified as order Isoptera, but have been found to be a subgroup of the Blattodea (roaches and allies) and consequently should be treated as part of this group; what taxonomy entomologists eventually will settle upon has not been decided yet.

This subfamily consists of 14 genera and about 350 species. They include Macrotermes bellicosus, whose huge queen can attain a length of 10.6 cm (4.2 in) and breadth of 5.5 cm (2.2 in), making them the largest existing termites. The other adults, on the other hand, are about a third of the size.

Genera

Gallery


Wikispecies has information related to: Macrotermitinae
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.