Termite

A social insect in the infraorder Isoptera that lives in colonies and feeds mainly on cellulose-rich material, often with microbial help.

Termite caste system: A colony’s division of labor among reproductive, worker, and soldier individuals. Caste specialization lets colonies combine reproduction, food gathering, nest care, and defense.
Blattodea: An insect order containing cockroaches and termites. Modern classification places termites within the cockroach order Blattodea.
Wood decomposition: The breakdown of woody plant material by organisms and environmental processes. Termites accelerate wood breakdown by consuming and processing dead plant matter.
Macrotermes bellicosus: A large African termite species that cultivates Termitomyces fungi in specialized nests. Its fungus-growing colonies illustrate agriculture and mound building in termites.
Termite evolution: The evolutionary history of termites from wood-feeding cockroach ancestors. Their history traces the origins of colony life and specialized cellulose feeding.
Termite gut microbiota: The bacteria, archaea, and protists inhabiting a termite’s digestive tract. Gut symbionts help termites digest cellulose and obtain nutrients from wood.
Isoptera: The traditional infraorder comprising termites, now classified within Blattodea. This name remains widely used for termites despite their placement within Blattodea.
Nutrient cycle: The movement and transformation of chemical elements through organisms and environments. Termite feeding and mound building redistribute nutrients through soils and ecosystems.
Reticulitermes flavipes: A subterranean termite species native to eastern North America and introduced elsewhere. It is a widespread structural pest and a common subject of termite research.
Cryptocercus punctulatus: A subsocial wood-feeding cockroach from eastern North America that shares gut symbionts with lower termites. Its family-level social behavior and symbiosis offer clues to termite ancestry.

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