Soil-foraging
Guides
Heterotermitidae
Typical Subterranean Termites, Subterranean Termites
Heterotermitidae, commonly known as subterranean termites, is a family of termites elevated from subfamily Heterotermitinae (formerly in Rhinotermitidae) based on 2024 cladistic analyses. The family is sister to Termitidae, together forming the clade Geoisoptera. It includes economically significant genera Reticulitermes, Heterotermes, and Coptotermes, with C. formosanus alone causing over $2.2 billion in annual damages in the United States. Members forage through soil and construct mud tubes to access wood resources.