Reticulitermes hesperus | |
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Reproductive adult on the wing | |
Workers in the colony | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Blattodea |
Infraorder: | Isoptera |
Family: | Rhinotermitidae |
Genus: | Reticulitermes |
Species: | R. hesperus
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Binomial name | |
Reticulitermes hesperus Banks in Banks & Snyder, 1920
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Reticulitermes hesperus, the western subterranean termite, is a species of termite in the family Rhinotermitidae. It is found in Central America and North America.[1][2][3] R. hesperus is native to the coast between British Columbia and Southern California.[4] Like other subterranean termites, they live underground, where they have elaborate eusocial societies composed of a queen, workers, and soldiers, as well as a rotating case of sexually reproductive adults and their larval and immature offspring.[5] The reproductive adults are the only ones with functional wings.[5] The reproductive adults will swarm on warm days in spring and fall, particularly after a rain event, looking for mating partners.[5] These termites prefer moist living environments and prefer to consume wood that has already been partially decayed by saprotrophic fungus.[5]
A similar species, Reticulitermes tibialis, is more common in the interior of western North America.[4]
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