Editing Termite (section)

{{short description|Social insects related to cockroaches}}
{{About|the social insects}}
{{Distinguish|Thermite|Turmite}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2010}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Early Cretaceous | Recent}}
| image = Coptotermes formosanus shiraki USGov k8204-7.jpg
| image_caption = [[Formosan subterranean termite]] (''Coptotermes formosanus'')<br>Soldiers (red-coloured heads)<br>Workers (pale-coloured heads)
| taxon = Isoptera
| authority = [[Gaspard Auguste Brullé|Brullé]], 1832
| display_parents = 3
| subdivision_ranks = Families
| subdivision = {{Plain list|
* † [[Cratomastotermitidae]]<ref name="fossilworks" />
* [[Mastotermitidae]]
* † [[Melqartitermitidae]]
* † [[Mylacrotermitidae]]
* † [[Krishnatermitidae]]
* † [[Termopsidae]]<ref name=Engel2009/>
* † [[Arceotermitidae]]
* [[Stolotermitidae]]
*[[Archotermopsidae]]
* [[Hodotermopsidae]]
* [[Hodotermitidae]]
* [[Kalotermitidae]]
* † [[Tanytermitidae]]
* † [[Archeorhinotermitidae]]
* [[Stylotermitidae]]
* [[Serritermitidae]]
* [[Rhinotermitidae]]
*[[Termitogetonidae]]
*[[Psammotermitidae]]
*[[Heterotermitidae]]
* [[Termitidae]]
}}
}}

'''Termites''' are a group of [[detritivore|detritophagous]] [[Eusociality|eusocial]] [[cockroach]]es<ref name="x911">{{cite web | last=Milius | first=About Susan | title=Face it: Termites are roaches | website=Science News | date=2007-05-15 | url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/face-it-termites-are-roaches | access-date=2025-03-28}}</ref><ref name="t038">{{cite journal | last1=Bucek | first1=Ales | last2=Šobotník | first2=Jan | last3=He | first3=Shulin | last4=Shi | first4=Mang | last5=McMahon | first5=Dino P. | last6=Holmes | first6=Edward C. | last7=Roisin | first7=Yves | last8=Lo | first8=Nathan | last9=Bourguignon | first9=Thomas | title=Evolution of Termite Symbiosis Informed by Transcriptome-Based Phylogenies | journal=Current Biology | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=29 | issue=21 | year=2019 | issn=0960-9822 | doi=10.1016/j.cub.2019.08.076 | doi-access=free | pages=3728–3734.e4| pmid=31630948 | bibcode=2019CBio...29E3728B }}</ref><ref name="d918">{{cite journal | last1=Monti | first1=Manuela | last2=Redi | first2=CarloAlberto | last3=Capanna | first3=Ernesto | title=Genome size evaluations in cockroaches: new entries | journal=European Journal of Histochemistry | publisher=PAGEPress Publications | volume=66 | issue=2 | date=2022-03-25 | issn=2038-8306 | doi=10.4081/ejh.2022.3400 | doi-access=free | url=https://ejh.it/index.php/ejh/article/download/3400/3259 | access-date=2025-03-28 | page=| pmid=35332752 | pmc=8992379 }}</ref><ref name="m647">{{cite book | last=Nalepa | first=Christine A. | title=Biology of Termites: a Modern Synthesis | chapter=Altricial Development in Wood-Feeding Cockroaches: The Key Antecedent of Termite Eusociality | publisher=Springer Netherlands | publication-place=Dordrecht | date=2010 | isbn=978-90-481-3976-7 | doi=10.1007/978-90-481-3977-4_4 | pages=69–95}}</ref> which consume a variety of [[Detritus|decaying plant material]], generally in the form of [[wood]], [[Plant litter|leaf litter]], and [[Humus|soil humus]]. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied, unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed "'''white ants'''";<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Termite |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/termite?show=0&t=1420442739 |work=Merriam-Webster.com| date=23 May 2023 }}</ref> however, they are not [[ant]]s but highly [[Apomorphy and synapomorphy|derived]] cockroaches.<ref name="inward"/> About 2,997 extant [[species]] are currently described, 2,125 of which are members of the family [[Termitidae]].

Termites comprise the [[infraorder]] '''Isoptera''', or alternatively the [[Taxonomic rank#All ranks|epifamily]] '''Termitoidae''', within the order [[Blattodea]] (the [[cockroach]]es). Termites were once classified in a separate [[Order (biology)|order]] from cockroaches, but recent [[phylogenetic]] studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are deeply nested within the group, and the [[sister group]] to wood-eating cockroaches of the genus ''[[Cryptocercus]]''. Previous estimates suggested the divergence took place during the [[Jurassic]] or [[Triassic]]. More recent estimates suggest that they have an origin during the [[Late Jurassic]],<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Chouvenc T, Šobotník J, Engel MS, Bourguignon T |title=Termite evolution: mutualistic associations, key innovations, and the rise of Termitidae |journal=Cell Mol Life Sci |volume=78 |issue=6 |pages=2749–2769 |date=March 2021 |pmid=33388854 |pmc=11071720 |doi=10.1007/s00018-020-03728-z }}</ref> with the first fossil records in the [[Early Cretaceous]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Evangelista DA, Wipfler B, Béthoux O, et al. |title=An integrative phylogenomic approach illuminates the evolutionary history of cockroaches and termites (Blattodea) |journal=Proc Biol Sci |volume=286 |issue=1895 |pages=20182076 |date=January 2019 |pmid=30963947 |pmc=6364590 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2018.2076 }}</ref>

Similarly to ants and some [[bee]]s and [[wasp]]s from the separate order [[Hymenoptera]], most termites have an analogous "worker" and "soldier" caste system consisting of mostly sterile individuals which are physically and behaviorally distinct. Unlike ants, most colonies begin from sexually mature individuals known as the "king" and "queen" that together form a lifelong [[Monogamy in animals|monogamous]] pair.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nalepa |first1=Christine A. |last2=Jones |first2=Susan C. |title=Evolution of Monogamy in Termites |date=February 1991 |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1991.tb01136.x |journal=Biological Reviews |language=en |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=83–97 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-185X.1991.tb01136.x |s2cid=84398573 |issn=1464-7931|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Also unlike ants, which undergo a [[complete metamorphosis]], termites undergo an [[incomplete metamorphosis]] that proceeds through egg, [[nymph (biology)|nymph]], and [[Imago|adult]] stages. Termite colonies are commonly described as [[superorganism]]s due to the collective behaviors of the individuals which form a self-governing entity: the colony itself.{{sfn|Bignell|Roisin|Lo|2010|p=2}} Their colonies range in size from a few hundred individuals to enormous societies with several million individuals. Most species are rarely seen, having a cryptic life history where they remain hidden within the galleries and tunnels of their nests for most of their lives.<ref name="l424">{{cite book | title=Wood Deterioration and Preservation: Advances in Our Changing World | publisher=American Chemical Society | publication-place=Washington, DC | volume=845 | date=2003-03-31 | isbn=978-0-8412-3797-1 | doi=10.1021/bk-2003-0845.ch021 | url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-2003-0845.ch021 | access-date=2025-05-09 | page=}}</ref>

Termites' success as a group has led to them colonizing almost every global landmass, with the highest diversity occurring in the tropics where they are estimated to constitute 10% of the animal [[Biomass (ecology)|biomass]], particularly in [[Africa]] which has the richest diversity with more than 1000 described species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=van Huis |first=Arnold |date=2017-01-26 |title=Cultural significance of termites in sub-Saharan Africa |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=8 |doi=10.1186/s13002-017-0137-z |issn=1746-4269 |pmc=5270236 |pmid=28126033 |doi-access=free }}</ref> They are important decomposers of decaying plant matter in the [[Subtropics|subtropical]] and [[Tropics|tropical]] regions of the world, and their recycling of wood and plant matter is of considerable ecological importance. Many species are [[ecosystem engineer]]s capable of altering [[soil]] characteristics such as [[hydrology]], decomposition, [[nutrient cycling]], vegetative growth, and consequently surrounding [[biodiversity]] through the large [[Termite mound|mounds]] constructed by certain species.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jouquet |first1=Pascal |last2=Traoré |first2=Saran |last3=Choosai |first3=Chutinan |last4=Hartmann |first4=Christian |last5=Bignell |first5=David |date=2011-07-01 |title=Influence of termites on ecosystem functioning. Ecosystem services provided by termites |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1164556311000422 |journal=European Journal of Soil Biology |language=en |volume=47 |issue=4 |pages=215–222 |doi=10.1016/j.ejsobi.2011.05.005 |bibcode=2011EJSB...47..215J |issn=1164-5563|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Termites have several impacts on humans. They are a delicacy in the diet of some human cultures such as the [[Makiritare]] in the [[Alto Orinoco Municipality|Alto Orinoco]] province of [[Venezuela]], where they are commonly used as a spice.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Paoletti |first1=M. G. |last2=Buscardo |first2=E. |last3=Vanderjagt |first3=D. J. |last4=Pastuszyn |first4=A. |last5=Pizzoferrato |first5=L. |last6=Huang |first6=Y.-S. |last7=Chuang |first7=L.-T. |last8=Glew |first8=R. H. |last9=Millson |first9=M. |last10=Cerda |first10=H. |date=March 2003 |title=Nutrient content of termites (syntermes soldiers) consumed bymakiritare amerindians of the altoorinoco of Venezuela |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/036702403902-2255177 |journal=Ecology of Food and Nutrition |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=177–191 |doi=10.1080/036702403902-2255177 |bibcode=2003EcoFN..42..177P |s2cid=73373107 |issn=0367-0244|url-access=subscription }}</ref> They are also used in [[Traditional medicine|traditional medicinal treatments]] of various diseases and ailments, such as influenza, asthma, bronchitis, etc.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alves |first=Rômulo RN |date=December 2009 |title=Fauna used in popular medicine in Northeast Brazil |journal=Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.1186/1746-4269-5-1 |pmid=19128461 |pmc=2628872 |issn=1746-4269 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alves |first1=Rômulo R. N. |last2=Dias |first2=Thelma L. P. |date=June 2010 |title=Usos de invertebrados na medicina popular no Brasil e suas implicações para conservação |journal=Tropical Conservation Science |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=159–174 |doi=10.1177/194008291000300204 |s2cid=86904054 |issn=1940-0829|doi-access=free }}</ref> Termites are most famous for being structural pests; however, the vast majority of termite species are innocuous, with the regional numbers of economically significant species being: [[North America]], 9; [[Australia]], 16; [[Indian subcontinent]], 26; [[Afrotropical realm|tropical Africa]], 24; [[Central America]] and the [[West Indies]], 17. Of known pest species, 28 of the most invasive and structurally damaging belong to the genus ''[[Coptotermes]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Govorushko |first=Sergey |date=March 2019 |title=Economic and ecological importance of termites: A global review: Termites: a global review  |journal=Entomological Science |language=en |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=21–35 |doi=10.1111/ens.12328|s2cid=92474272 }}</ref> The distribution of most known pest species is expected to increase over time as a consequence of [[climate change]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Buczkowski |first1=Grzegorz |last2=Bertelsmeier |first2=Cleo |date=February 2017 |title=Invasive termites in a changing climate: A global perspective |journal=Ecology and Evolution |language=en |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=974–985 |doi=10.1002/ece3.2674 |pmc=5288252 |pmid=28168033|bibcode=2017EcoEv...7..974B }}</ref> Increased urbanization and connectivity is also predicted to expand the range of some pest termites.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Duquesne |first1=Edouard |last2=Fournier |first2=Denis |date=2024-04-30 |title=Connectivity and climate change drive the global distribution of highly invasive termites |url=https://neobiota.pensoft.net/article/115411/ |journal=NeoBiota |language=en |volume=92 |pages=281–314 |doi=10.3897/neobiota.92.115411 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2024NeoBi..92..281D |issn=1314-2488}}</ref>