4 replies to this topic

[Vendayn]

(edit: I guess they are Microcerotermes. I'm surprised because from the video, it looked like Coptotermes to me. But in fact, they are Microcerotermes that also grow fast)

 

 

At least its termites, since there isn't much videos about termite keeping.

 

But, its some type of Coptotermes, a highly invasive termite. The soldiers give it away, and the alates look the part. Plus the mounds do resemble Coptotermes that they can build (as far as I've seen in pictures).

 

Explains their insane growth from just two alates in a period of 4 months.

 

Any termite footage is good though, and maybe other people will get into the termite hobby. Requires more patience than ants though...unless its Coptotermes, then they grow faster than most ant species do lol.

 

For confirmation on Coptotermes though

 

http://www.padil.gov...ain/136465/1926

 

Soldier looks just like it. Once you get to one of the soldiers in the video, can pause and look between the two for comparison and see all the awesome details. Even the mandibles look the same. 

 

Even though its an exotic termite, Antscanada does take amazing quality footage. Plus can open the way to introduce a lot of other people to termite keeping.

Edited by Vendayn, September 15 2018 - 11:20 AM.

[Vendayn]

As for the video. Its actually really decent. Like how he used to do for ants, informative and no drama.

 

The ending was the only "dramatic" part with too much humidity. But I don't think he did it for drama, but as a beginners mistake. I did that in the past with termites. He fixed it right away and didn't act dramatic at all. Actually a good thing because people watching can know to watch out for humidity.

 

His termite video is pretty much like his older videos of ants.

Edited by Vendayn, September 15 2018 - 10:36 AM.

[ZllGGY]

well they may be invasive they are probably at this point an established species in his area. think people had the same problem with his ghost ant colony that he released and people didn't realize that the ghost ants he released literally came from his apartment so releasing them wasnt a big deal. Now if people have the APHIS permit and can keep exotic ants as long as they don't release them into the wild. but keeping invasive ant, termite, or w/e keeping shouldn't be that big of a deal for the people who know how to do it responsibly but would advise the younger crowd of his audience to stick to local species. i enjoyed the video though something a little different to break up the same material he puts out 

[Vendayn]

According to LC3, they are actually Microcerotermes

 

I'm surprised, because from the link I posted showing the Coptotermes soldier it looked really similar to that. But, it looks like they are actually Microcerotermes, which also grow fast and common according to LC3.

 

But, I guess Coptotermes in Australia actually look different than Coptotermes from elsewhere. I'm not going to use that picture as a guide anymore for Coptotermes. Actually a few months ago (about 5-6 months when I found the picture), that Australian link it was labeled as the invasive Coptotermes formosanus, that was why I linked to it. I guess they put the wrong name though and it got fixed to one of the native Australian Coptotermes.

 

Was curious why it looked different than the invasive Coptotermes, since it didn't have the tear drop head soldiers. Guess they accidentally put in the wrong name, so that explains it lol.

Edited by Vendayn, September 15 2018 - 11:30 AM.

[LC3]

So according to the species that are currently known from the Philippines, it seems to be either M. distans or M losbanosensis. I am guessing the former one but I am mostly clueless.

 

Some vocab so you won't need to google as much.

Spoiler

Dorsal = back

Ventral = bottom/underside

Anterior = front

Posterior = back

Margin = edge

Pronotum = a plate like structure on the thorax behind the head

Mesanotum and Metanotum = parts of a thorax

Tergites = segments of a thorax

Labrum = Plate like structure part of the insects mouth

Clypeus = a part of the insects 'face', makes up the segment above the mouth usually

Truncated = Trunk like/large cylinder-esque -think Colobopsis 

 

 

M. losbanosensis

Spoiler

Microcerotermes los-banosensis Oshima, Ann. Zool. Jap. (1914), 8, 583. 

 

Imago. — Unknown. 

 

Soldier. — Head yellow; mandibles brown; abdomen white. 

Head very sparingly pilose; abdominal tergites thinly provided 

with microscopical hairs. Head quadrangular, elongated, with rounded corners, slightly 

vaulted above, truncated in front ; no f ontanelle ; posterior border 

of clypeus arcuate, anterior border straight; labrum short and 

broad, tongue-shaped; mandibles slender, saber-shaped, with 

strongly incurved piercing tip, masticating edge minutely ser- 

rated; antennae 13-jointed, 1st joint very stout, 3d joint shorter 

and narrower than 2d, 4th joint as long as 2d ; pronotum saddle- 

shaped, anterior and posterior borders rounded and indented 

at middle. 

Mm. 

Length of body 5.50 

Length of head with mandible 2.56-2.66 

Length of head without mandible 1.66-1.72 

Width of head 1.03 

Width of pronotum 0.34 

Length of pronotum 0.66 

 

Worker. — Head pale yellow, abdomen white. Head moderately 

pilose ; abdominal tergites densely provided with minute hairs. 

Head broadly oval, slightly longer than broad ; dorsal sutures 

of head indistinct, whitish ; basal portion of clypeus half as long 

as broad, anterior border straight, posterior border convex, 

slightly swollen, with a shallow median groove; antennae 13- 

jointed, 3d joint minute, half as long as 2d, 4th joint longer than 

3d ; pronotum saddle-shaped, anterior border slightly indented at 

middle. 

Mm. 

Length of body 4.20 

Width of head 0.94 

Width of pronotum 0.58 

Habitat. — Luzon, Laguna, Los Baiios (Baker).

 

M. distans

Spoiler

Male 5.5 mm. long. Head and pronotum black, the dorsal

plates of the abdomen castaneous, the posterior halves of the

mesonotum and metanotum and the lateral ends of the ventral

plates of the abdomen fuliginous, the anterior halves of the

mesonotum and metanotum, the legs, and the middle of the

ventral plates of the abdomen umbrinous. Head ovate, the

ocelli separated from the eyes by more than a diameter. Fenestra,

absent. Antennae of 14 segments, the 2nd larger than the 3rd,

which is very small, the others increasing in size somewhat

towards the apex. Epistoma convex and prominent. Pronotum

with anterior margin straight, scarcely raised ; antero-lateral

sharply rounded, not depressed ; lateral margins nearly straight,

converging ; posterior margin obscurely bilobed. Posterior

margins of mesonoturn and metanotum slightly concave. 

Anterior wings tumps slightly larger than the posterior. Wings

7.4 mm. long, 2 mm. broad, hairy, umbrinous; the very faint

median runs nearer the eubmedian than the subcostal, and

reaches the apex of the wing, giving one offset

 the hind legs do not nearly reach the apex of the abdomen

The abdomind papills very minute.

 

Female with the ventral plate of the 7th abdomnal segment half

long as broad. The abdomen of the queen reaches a length of

30 mm. ; the lateral cuticle has small pigment-spots and hairs.

 

Soldier 6 mm. long. Head 1.7 mm. long, 1.1 mm. broad,

latericius(=brick red in colour?). Antennae of 13 segments, the 2nd larger than the

3rd, which is small. Labrum ovate, reaching to one third of the

mandibles. Mandibles 1 mm. long, slender, curved, especially

near the tips, the cutting-margin minutely serrate. Pronotum

saddle-shaped, the anterior portion bilobed, raised. Hind legs

reaching to the end of the abdomen. Abdomen oblong. 

Abdominmal papills minute.

 

Worker 4.5 mm. long. Head pale or subcastaneous(=orange/dark yellow?). Antennae

of 13 segments. The abdomen coloured by the intestinal contents.

Hab. Borneo ; Sulu Islands ; Celebes. Type, No. 578.

 

Ignoring these two there's also the possibility of M. sabahensis, M. "sp. B" and M. "sp. A". All of these 3 are based from these images on a website about the biodiversity of Singapore. All of these were chosen due to their head shape.

https://singapore.bi...lattodea-000014

https://singapore.bi...lattodea-000015

https://singapore.bi...lattodea-000012

 

 

As for AntsCanada's termites here's a rough description from what I can gather from the video:

Soldiers: Antennae segments: 13, head is roughly twice as long as broad, soldier head capsule is yellow with brown tinge along the margins, which gradually deepens to a rusty orange colour at the anterior (although it seems to appear as a uniform reddish colour when in low light). The head capsule in profile is curved, with the posterior raised and rounded, and the front truncated. It appears to be rectangular however and not cylindrical. Fontanelle reservoir seems to be visible.  Can't tell anything from the labrum other then its small. The mandibles appear to be completely black except the base that attaches to the head which is the same colour as the head, they are slightly curved but for the most part straight until the end, somewhat rather broad for Microcerotermes. Possibly slightly serrated and are roughly 2/3rds the length of the head. Nearly a 1:1 ratio in terms of head to body length (including mandibles). 

 

Workers: Head capsule is sort of rectangularish and oval (dorsal view). The colours possible for the head seem to be white, pale yellow, yellow and orange for the minor worker and white, pale yellow and yellow for the major workers. The clypeus (or post-clypeus, I don't know) appears to be slightly swollen.

 

 

I just have too much time to waste on my hands or whatever. Go make what you will out of this, with luck it will probably be a species completely unknown to science or something.  Suffice to say M. sp. A seems to be the most likely, but its also one of the 3 that has a picture but not a description. Being your standard termite paper both of the keys for the Philippine species are really old and vague, with no pictures on the copies I used. 

Edited by LC3, September 17 2018 - 12:42 AM.