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Termites are flying here tonight - Sydney


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#1 Offline CoolColJ - Posted November 1 2018 - 1:45 AM

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Woah termites alates are entering my room, even though there is a flyscreen across all windows....

 

 


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Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#2 Offline Nare - Posted November 1 2018 - 4:38 PM

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I hope you've grabbed some - any idea of a species?



#3 Offline CoolColJ - Posted November 1 2018 - 5:29 PM

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I hope you've grabbed some - any idea of a species?


Only saw one...

It looks like Heterotermes
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Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#4 Offline CoolColJ - Posted December 13 2018 - 3:12 AM

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I was about to go out when the thunderstorm hit... so I went after at 9:30pm. not much activity, apart from a bullant getting thumped by consobrinus workers on the tennis court, which was lit up by spot lights on the edge of bushland near my house.

But I did find two pairs tandem running termite couples!

 

Quite a large species as well


Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#5 Offline CoolColJ - Posted December 13 2018 - 3:47 AM

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any idea of species?

The female is noticeable longer than the male

 

click to enlarge


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Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#6 Offline Nare - Posted December 13 2018 - 8:35 AM

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Looks like some sort of termitidae, maybe it's the *Nasutitermes* you've kept before?



#7 Offline sirjordanncurtis - Posted December 13 2018 - 5:03 PM

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Do all mated termites always stay so close to each other? Or do they start separating once they nest.



#8 Offline Nare - Posted December 13 2018 - 5:44 PM

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Do all mated termites always stay so close to each other? Or do they start separating once they nest.

I think that once they've made their chamber, they don't move. Moreso in higher termites and rhinotermids I'd think.



#9 Offline CoolColJ - Posted December 13 2018 - 8:35 PM

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Looks like some sort of termitidae, maybe it's the *Nasutitermes* you've kept before?

 

Nah way bigger than the others I've had, plus the wings are white rather than black


Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#10 Offline LC3 - Posted December 13 2018 - 11:24 PM

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These are possibly a Schedorhinotermes sp., not really sure which species, but S. seclusus seems to be the closest match. Can you get a picture of the wings (preferably on a dark and light surface, trying to get a look at the wing veins) and note the size of it, as well as the size of the termite themselves?

Edited by LC3, December 14 2018 - 1:50 AM.

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#11 Offline CoolColJ - Posted December 14 2018 - 2:00 AM

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These are possibly a Schedorhinotermes sp., not really sure which species, but S. seclusus seems to be the closest match. Can you get a picture of the wings (preferably on a dark and light surface, trying to get a look at the wing veins) and note the size of it, as well as the size of the termite themselves?

 

 

Too late they were wingless when I found these.

There was a single one with wings but I left it behind, it dropped it's wings as soon as I tried to grab the wings :)

 

They don't seem to be into the toilet paper and test tube method, so I don't think it will work with these.

Not doing any chamber digging, just sitting there


Edited by CoolColJ, December 14 2018 - 2:01 AM.

Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#12 Offline CoolColJ - Posted December 14 2018 - 2:03 AM

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Female is roughly 8mm


Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#13 Offline LC3 - Posted December 14 2018 - 2:42 AM

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It is certainly in the size range to be Schedorhinotermes. Maybe try wood?



From:
http://termitesandan...termes.html?m=0

Edited by LC3, December 14 2018 - 2:43 AM.

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#14 Offline LC3 - Posted December 14 2018 - 3:53 PM

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So another Australian antkeeper also found termites that are probably the same species, and they had wings on hand. It confirms they are Termitids. I also found another tidbit that would confirm that: 

 

For Rhinotermitidae: 


Forewing: scale large, overlapping hind-wing scale (except in Psammotermitinae, Termitogetoninae);

 

So there's an easy way to tell the family. I'll keep digging around for the subfamily. Australia seems to be limited to two subfamiles, the Nasutitermitinae and the Termitinae/Amitermitinae. There are a lot of genera though... For the mean time I agree with Nare, they're very Nasutitermes looking. As for founding, I think they might be fully claustral. Assuming they're Nasutitermes their diet would consist of either wood, grass, leaf litter and other decaying vegetation or two or three.

 

 

image1.jpg?width=226&height=301image0.jpg?width=226&height=301image0.jpg?width=400&height=300


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#15 Offline CoolColJ - Posted December 14 2018 - 3:54 PM

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Well the female is chilling on the little bit of toilet paper that I formed into a starting nest, while the male cleans her.

So I guess they have settled in.


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Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#16 Offline CoolColJ - Posted December 16 2018 - 12:13 AM

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They look like roaches :)

 


Edited by CoolColJ, December 16 2018 - 12:14 AM.

  • LC3 and Nare like this

Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#17 Offline Guy_Fieri - Posted December 16 2018 - 12:32 AM

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They look like roaches :)

 

That's because both termites and roaches are part of the order blattodea.



#18 Offline CoolColJ - Posted December 24 2018 - 4:00 PM

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The male died, which i fed to my pheidole colony.

And then fed the female to my meat ants.

 

Then I saw the female is pretty big much larger than the meat ant nanitic workers.


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Current ant colonies -
1) Opisthopsis Rufithorax (strobe ant), Melophorus sp2. black and orange, Pheidole species, Pheidole antipodum
Journal = http://www.formicult...ra-iridomyrmex/

Heterotermes cf brevicatena termite pet/feeder journal = http://www.formicult...feeder-journal/


#19 Offline Connectimyrmex - Posted January 11 2019 - 7:15 PM

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Could they be a species of Coptotermes? They truly remind me of Coptotermes gestroi, but I'm not sure if they're present in Australia (they certainly were in Hawaii, though)

 

Seems like my ancient practice of termite rearing (heck more like lasting a month) has faded away. They will do fine in a standard ant test tube setup, with a piece of dampened cardboard (like a toilet paper roll) on the bottom of the tube (try to make it so it covers half of the tube's circumference, and make it so it does not touch the tube's cotton plug). Change this cardboard regularly, since the termites will begin to eat the damp cotton if the cardboard runs out. Keep the tube in a dark place, to prevent any disturbance (since this can prompt the termites to coat the tubes in chewed up cardboard). 


Edited by Connectimyrmex, January 11 2019 - 7:18 PM.


#20 Offline LC3 - Posted January 12 2019 - 12:27 PM

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Can’t be Coptotermes, forgot to mention but in Termitidae both wingscales are roughly even in size (whcih the alates clearly have), if this were Coptotermes the front wingscale would slightly overlap the hind.
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