Rudolf H. Scheffrahn

University of Florida | UF · Ft. Lauderdale Research & Education Center

The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences.

The imago of N. callimorphus is described for the first time. Nasutitermes callimorphus occurs from Mexico to Paraguay. Nasutitermes callimorphus is smaller in all measurements but generally resembles its widely distributed sympatric congeners, N. corniger (Motschulsky, 1855) and N. ephratae (Holmgren, 1910). Molecular phylogenetic analysis of a po...

The higher classification of termites requires substantial revision as the Neoisoptera, the most diverse termite lineage, comprise many paraphyletic and polyphyletic higher taxa. Here, we produce an updated termite classification using genomic-scale analyses. We reconstruct phylogenies under diverse substitution models with ultraconserved elements...

The Canary Islands is a Macaronesian volcanic archipelago with a depauperate community of three species of Kalotermitidae, including Kalotermes dispar. A total of 54 Kalotermes colonies were collected from Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma, and El Hierro islands. Soldiers and imagos were morphologically examined and sequenced for four mit...

Seven new localities are reported for Coatitermes pallidus (Snyder, 1926) from Amazonia and nine for Coatitermes clevelandi (Snyder, 1926) from Amazonia and Panama. The soldier of C. pallidus and the worker enteric valve armature are depicted for the first time and compared with those of the sympatric C. clevelandi. The new localities extend the dis...

The phylum Parabasalia includes very diverse single-cell organisms that nevertheless share a distinctive set of morphological traits. Most are harmless or beneficial gut symbionts of animals, but some have turned into parasites in other body compartments, the most notorious example being Trichomonas vaginalis in humans. Parabasalians have garnered...

The Asian subterranean termite, Coptotermes gestroi, is a structural pest endemic to Southeast Asia that has been spread anthropogenically to much of the tropics worldwide. We report a land-based establishment of C. gestroi in Alexandria, Egypt, the northernmost locality of this species and over 4000 km from its nearest previous locality in norther...

Two new species of Incisitermes are described from the soldier and imago caste: Incisitermes lisae sp. nov. (Yucatan Region) and Incisitermes mariae sp. nov. (Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago). Incisitermes tabogae (Snyder, 1924) is reduced to a junior synonymy of Incisitermes schwarzi (Banks, 1920), known from Florida, the West Indies, and the Ca...

A new termite species, Cryptotermes pugnus sp. nov. , is described from northeastern Brazil. The winged imago of C. pugnus is distinguished from most congeners by the lack of arolia and the multiple branches connecting the median vein to the radial sector. The soldier is unique among South American Cryptotermes by its cuboidal head capsule and very...

While new species of termites are described every year, the description of species distant from every known termite species is rare. In this paper, we describe one such species, Engelitermes zambo sp.n. , an African Termitidae belonging to an entirely new lineage of termites for which we create a new subfamily, Engelitermitinae subfam.n. The subfam...

The neotropical Apicotermitinae is a common and widespread clade of mostly soil-feeding soldierless termites. With few exceptions, species of this group were originally assigned to the genus Anoplotermes Müller, 1873. The application of internal worker morphology coupled with genetic sequencing has recently shed light on the true diversity of this...

The Asian subterranean termite (AST), Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann), is a major structural pest in the world’s humid tropics. After its 1999 discovery in Key West, Florida, a survey of buildings infested with AST was initiated. By 2021, a total of 1,703 terrestrial AST encounters were accumulated and used to assess the spatio-temporal spread of AST...

Most Parabasalia are symbionts in the hindgut of "lower" (non-Termitidae) termites, where they widely vary in morphology and degree of morphological complexity. Large and complex cells in the class Cristamonadea evolved by replicating a fundamental unit, the karyomastigont, in various ways. We describe here four new species of Calonymphidae (Crista...

Madagascar is home to many endemic plant and animal species owing to its ancient isolation from other landmasses. This unique fauna includes several lineages of termites, a group of insects known for their key role in organic matter decomposition in many terrestrial ecosystems. How and when termites colonised Madagascar remains unknown. In this stu...

An illustrated identification key to the North American termite families and genera based mainly on the soldier caste is proposed. A checklist of termites (Insecta: Blattodea: Isoptera) of Canada, continental USA and Mexico is presented, listing 89 species (and two subspecies) grouped in 26 genera and four families. Five species are added to the Me...

Chasitermes pax Scheffrahn & Carrijo gen. et sp. nov. is described from workers collected from a single colony in the Northern Range of Trinidad. The shape and texture of the unsclerotized enteric valve, tubular shape of the enteric valve seating, and prominent spherical mesenteric tongue of C. pax are the diagnostic characters for both the genus a...

Little is known about the phylogeography of termites in the Neotropical region. Here, we explored the genetic patterns and phylogeographical processes in the evolutionary history of Nasutitermes kemneri, an endemic termite of the South American diagonal of open formations (DOF) formed by the Chaco, Cerrado, and Caatinga phytogeographic domains. We...

The phylogenetic history of termites has been investigated using mitochondrial genomes and transcriptomes. However, both sets of markers have specific limitations. Mitochondrial genomes represent a single genetic marker likely to yield phylogenetic trees presenting incongruences with species trees, and transcriptomes can only be obtained from well-...

The phylogenetic history of termites has been investigated using mitochondrial genomes and transcriptomes. However, both sets of markers have limitations. Mitochondrial genomes represent a single genetic marker likely to yield phylogenetic trees presenting incongruences with species trees, and transcriptomes can only be obtained from well-preserved...

Madagascar is home to many endemic plant and animal species owing to its ancient isolation from other landmasses. This unique fauna includes several lineages of termites, a group of insects known for their key role in organic matter decomposition in many terrestrial ecosystems. How and when termites colonised Madagascar remains unknown. In this stu...

Ebogotermes raphaeli gen. n. sp. n., is described from workers collected in Cameroon. This soil-feeding termite is the largest soldierless termite from central Africa and aligns with the Anoplotermes subgroup. The enteric valve armature is weakly armed and, as with most apicotermitine species, is uniquely diagnostic.

A 2012 termite expedition yielded the first species of Glyptotermes known from Paraguay, G. hickmani sp. nov. and G. canellae (Müller, 1873), the latter previously known from Argentina and Brazil. Both are described based on the soldier and imago castes.

Rugitermes ursulae sp. nov. is described from a sample collected inside a dead branch in a tropical dry forest of Colombia’s Caribbean coast using molecular information and external morphological characters of the imago and soldier castes. Rugitermes ursulae sp. nov. soldiers and imagoes are the smallest among all described Rugitermes species. The...

Contents: Introduction - Distribution - Description and Identification - Life History - Damage - Pest Status - Management - Selected References. This article is also published on the UF/IFAS Featured Creatures website at http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/termites/heterotermes.htm.

Cristamonadea is a large class of parabasalian protists that reside in the hindguts of wood-feeding insects, where they play an essential role in the digestion of lignocellulose. This group of symbionts boasts an impressive array of complex morphological characteristics, many of which have evolved multiple times independently. However, their divers...

The eukaryotic microbiome of “lower” termites is highly stable and host-specific. This is due to the mutually obligate nature of the symbiosis and the direct inheritance of protists by proctodeal trophallaxis. However, vertical transmission is occasionally imperfect, resulting in daughter colonies that lack one or more of the expected protist speci...

The soldier of Rugitermes aridus sp. nov. is described from a xeric, termite-depauperate region of central Peru. Rugitermes rufus sp. nov. and R. volcanensis sp. nov. are described from soldiers and dealated imagos collected in a mesic forest of Amboró National Park in western Bolivia. The imago of R. rufus is unique among all described Rugitermes...

The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, 1909, is a highly destructive structural pest endemic to East Asia. We report a land-based establishment of C. formosanus in Petah Tikva, Israel, over 6000 km from its nearest previous locality in China. The species' identity was confirmed by soldier morphology and by COI sequence d...

Our recent description of Echinotermes biriba (Castro et al. 2018) does not clearly define the type repositories as we only give the acronyms “CATAC” and “UF”. The holotype and paratype workers are deposited in the Colección de artrópodos terrestres de la Amazonía Colombiana of the SINCHI Institute in Leticia, Amazonas, Colombia (CATAC). Additional...

The imago and soldier castes of a new Rugitermes Holmgren, 1911 species, R. tinto sp. nov. are described. It is the ninth species of Rugitermes from South America and the first record of this genus from Colombia. Unlike its congeners, the soldier of R. tinto has very dark head capsule pigmentation and acute protuberances projecting from frontolater...

The imago and soldier castes of a new Rugitermes Holmgren, 1911 species, R. tinto sp. nov. are described. It is the ninth species of Rugitermes from South America and the first record of this genus from Colombia. Unlike its congeners, the soldier of R. tinto has very dark head capsule pigmentation and acute protuberances projecting from frontolater...

The imago and soldier castes of a new Tauritermes Krishna, 1961 species, Tauritermes bandeirai sp. nov. are described. It is the fourth species of Tauritermes and occurs from the Caatinga and Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Unlike its congeners, the soldier of T. bandeirai has prominent frontal horns.

Heterotermes Froggatt is a subterranean termite genus consisting of 30 living described species worldwide, with nine occurring in the New World. Herein we provide a molecular phylogeny, using both mitochondrial and nuclear markers, of all New World species of Heterotermes , including biogeographical analysis, and describe a new species from Paragua...

Citizen science (CS) contributes to the knowledge about species distributions, which is a critical foundation in the studies of invasive species, biological conservation, and response to climatic change. In this study, we assessed the value of CS for termites worldwide. First, we compared the abundance and species diversity of geo-tagged termite re...

We present the description of a new genus and species of soldierless termites from South America. Rustitermes boteroi Constantini, Castro & Scheffrahn, gen. et sp. nov. can be identified by the morphology of the enteric valve, with six slightly asymmetric cushions, each one forming a central pouch made of scales smaller than those between the cushi...

The New World Kalotermitidae constitute about one-fourth of all termite species in this region. The geographic distributions of all fifteen kalotermitid genera are updated based on records in the University of Florida Termite Collection and in the literature. Range-appropriate exotic records of four pest species are also given. New distribution rec...

The worker of Aparatermes thornatus is described as the fourth species of a widespread Neotropical termite genus, Aparatermes, from the worker caste. This species occurs in the northern Amazonia. The enteric valve armature of A. thornatus and the unique coloration of its worker’s head capsule distinguished it from its three congeners. Molecular dat...

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) are blood-feeding human ectoparasites. Their cryptic nature and pesticide resistance have led to an upsurge in infestation abundance and increased difficulty to achieve control. A dosage-response study was conducted for fumigation with sulfuryl fluoride against bed bug eggs at 25 and 15°C. The least accumulated dosag...

The effect of sporicidal fumigation with methyl bromide or methyl iodide on the functionality of valuable electronic equipment was evaluated using desktop computers as surrogates under target conditions of 200–250 mg/L fumigant for 48 h at 24–30 °C and 75–85% RH. Methyl iodide fumigation damaged light-emitting diodes and optical films in computer d...

The imago and soldier castes of a new Neotermes species, N.costaseca , are described. It is only the third termite species known from the Pacific coastal desert of Peru. Neotermescostasecasp. n. is compared with the allopatric Neotermeschilensis from the arid central and southern coastal plain of Chile.

A new genus, Tonsuritermes Cancello & Constantini gen. nov., is described from South America. The main morphological features of the new genus are a remarkable frontal gland and protibia with two rows of spine-like bristles. Two new species of Tonsuritermes are described: T. tucki Cancello & Constantini sp. nov. and T. mathewsi Cancello & Constanti...

Cryptotermes garifunae sp. nov. (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) is described from a single colony sample collected on the coast of Honduras. This species represents the twenty-second Cryptotermes species known from the Caribbean Basin and West Indies. The C. garifunae soldier and imago are the smallest of the New World Cryptotermes. Distribution maps, c...

Anenteotermescherubimi Scheffrahn, sp. n. is described from workers and male imagos collected in Cameroon and Republic of the Congo. This is the smallest soldierless termite known from Africa. As with many soldierless and soil-feeding termite species, the enteric valve morphology is a robust and essential diagnostic character for An.cherubimi . Pre...

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 mol...

Imago dispersal by the West Indian drywood termite, Cryptotermes brevis (Walker) (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) potentially initiates or expands structural infestations by the establishment of incipient colonies. The prevention of drywood termite colonization in structures is difficult, but a substantial reduction may be obtainable. In this experiment,...

Dark southern drywood termites are classified as “an uncommon structural pest,” though some infestations have been recorded. Learn to identify this termite species and get information about its distribution, history, biology, and management in this 5-page fact sheet written by Joseph F. Velenovsky and Rudolf H. Scheffrahn and published by the UF/IF...

A new Apicotermitinae genus and species Echinotermes biriba is described from workers collected on the Andean-Amazon Piedmont in Colombia and Peru. The enteric valve armature of Echinotermes biriba Castro & Scheffrahn, gen. et sp. n. is a remarkably diagnostic character. A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis using the COI gene and including all other Ne...

The termite family Kalotermitidae constitutes a wood-nesting termite family that accounts for about 15% of all extant termite species. In recent decades, field studies have been carried out to assess termite diversity in various wooded habitats and geographic locations. Three sampling methods have been favored expert, transect, and alate light-trap...

Plagiolepis alluaudi, of Madagascar origin, is an invasive ant species in many tropical localities around the world. Here we report the first record of an established population of P. alluaudi in the continental Americas. This established population is thriving in a neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, and it raises concerns that this new...

Procryptotermes Holmgren is a modestly diverse kalotermitid genus endemic to numerous islands and archipelagos of the world’s tropical oceans (Scheffrahn & Křeček 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 Křeč...

Pseudotrichonympha is a large and structurally complex genus of parabasalian protists that play a key role in the digestion of lignocellulose in the termite hindgut. Like many termite symbionts, it has a conspicuous body plan that makes genus-level identification relatively easy, but species-level diversity of Pseudotrichonympha is understudied. Mo...

The subterranean termite Heterotermes aureus is endemic to arid regions of southwestern USA and northern Mexico. Like other termites in the family Rhinotermitidae, it harbors a community of protists (Phylum Parabasalia) in its hindgut that aid in cellulose digestion. We investigated the hindgut community of H. aureus using light microscopy, single...

Members of the genus Trichonympha are among the most well-known, recognizable and widely distributed parabasalian symbionts of lower termites and the wood-eating cockroach species of the genus Cryptocercus. Nevertheless, the species diversity of this genus is largely unknown. Molecular data have shown that the superficial morphological similarities...

The dispersal flight activity ("swarming") of two invasive subterranean termite species, Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) and Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, was monitored in metropolitan southeastern Florida, where both species are now sympatric and major structural pests. Historical records of alates collected in the area showed that the two species...

Spirotrichonymphea is a class of hypermastigote parabasalids defined by their spiral rows of many flagella. They are obligate hindgut symbionts of lower termites. Despite more than 100 years of morphological and ultrastructural study, the group remains poorly characterised by molecular data and the phylogenetic positions and taxonomic validity of m...

Previous observations have noted that in some species of higher termites the soldier caste lacks pigmented particles in its gut and, instead, is fed worker saliva that imparts a whitish coloration to the abdomen. In order to investigate the occurrence of this trait more thoroughly, we surveyed a broad diversity of termite specimens and taxonomic de...

We redescribe the winged imagos and soldiers of two equatorial African species, Neotermes aburiensis Sjöstedt and N. agilis (Sjöstedt) and describe their unique character attributes. The imago of N. aburiensis is adorned with unique spatulate-pointed setae. The soldier of N. aburiensis is unique among Neotermes in possessing a phragmotic forehead....

Disjunctitermes insularis gen. n. & sp. n. is described from workers collected on Guadeloupe and in Peru and is the first soldierless termite found on a deep-water island. As with many soldierless and soil-feeding termite species, the enteric valve morphology is an essential diagnostic character of D. insularis. The D. insularis sequence cluster, d...