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Australian Wildlife

  Ringant Termite (Neotermes insularis)





Ringant Termite | Neotermes insularis photo
Ringant Termite

Image by ARS Image Gallery - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)







RINGANT TERMITE FACTS

Identification
Ringant Termites are dampwood termites. The head is not prominently flattened and the pronotum (section of the thorax behind the head) is as wide as the head. The mandibles curve upwards slightly. Ringant termites have the largest soldiers of all the Australian termite species. They work mainly in the soft outer growth rings and do not leave much external signs of activity, unlike the Porotermes adamsoni which makes a visible mud like nest made of feces and wood particles.

Size
Soldier length: 10mm - 15mm

Habitat
forest trees, sometimes found in garden trees

Food
cellulose from wood

Breeding
The nest has many galleries in the outer soft growth rings of trees

Range
found around coastal Australia from Darwin in Northern Territory, around coastal Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Notes
The Ringant Termite is a serious pest of forest trees in eastern Australia where it damages the top parts of trees used for commercial timber.



Classification
Class:Insecta
Order:Isoptera
Family:Kalotermitidae
Genus:Neotermes
Species:insularis
Common Name:Ringant Termite