Wood-feeding
Guides
Amitermes
Amitermes is a genus of higher termites in the family Termitidae, subfamily Amitermitinae, containing approximately 100 species. It is the second largest genus in its subfamily after Microcerotermes. Species occupy diverse habitats ranging from deserts to rainforests across multiple continents. The genus is characterized by distinctive soldier morphology including bulbous heads and sickle-shaped mandibles. The Australian Amitermes group represents a major radiation that diversified rapidly during late Cenozoic climate change.
Blaberidae
Giant Cockroaches, Blaberids
Blaberidae is the second-largest family of cockroaches with over 1,260 species in 170 genera and 14 subfamilies. Members are distinguished as the only ovoviviparous cockroach family, where females retract the ootheca into the body and give birth to live nymphs. The family exhibits exceptional diversity in form and behavior, including burrowing species, conglobulating (ball-rolling) pill roaches, and hissing cockroaches. Many species are kept as pets or feeder insects.
Calcaritermes nearcticus
Calcaritermes nearcticus is a species of drywood termite in the family Kalotermitidae. It is native to North America and was first described by Snyder in 1933 as Kalotermes nearcticus before being transferred to the genus Calcaritermes. As a member of Kalotermitidae, it is a lower termite that lacks a true worker caste, with tasks performed by pseudergates. The species is rarely encountered and poorly documented in scientific literature.
Coptotermes
Coptotermes is a genus of subterranean termites in the family Rhinotermitidae, containing approximately 71 described species. The genus is thought to have originated in Southeast Asia and includes some of the world's most economically destructive termite pests, notably Coptotermes formosanus (Formosan subterranean termite) and C. gestroi (Asian subterranean termite). A 2013 consensus among 31 termite experts reduced the number of validated species from 69 to 21 based on morphological and molecular evidence, with many historical names suspected to be synonyms. Species in this genus exhibit complex social behaviors including age-based task division and unique nitrogen recycling strategies.
termitepestinvasivestructural-pestsubterraneanRhinotermitidaeHeterotermitidaeeconomic-pesturban-entomologycolonysocial-insectmoltingnitrogen-recyclingexuviaeage-polyethismFormosan-subterranean-termiteAsian-subterranean-termiteSoutheast-Asia-originwood-feedingcellulosegut-protozoalower-termiteevolutionary-transitiontunnelingforagingtrophallaxisproctodeal-trophallaxiscarton-nestAhamitermesparasitechitin-synthesis-inhibitorCSI-baitmolting-site-fidelityinvasive-speciesurban-peststructural-damagequarantineshippingrailroad-tiesmulchHawaiiFloridaLouisianaTaiwanJapanChinaPhilippinesAustraliatemperature-limitationhumidity-requirementcolony-sizeseveral-millionalatesswarmingnematode-associationvertical-transfermorphological-plasticitymolecular-identificationmitochondrial-DNACOII12S-rRNA16S-rRNAconsortium-taxonomytaxonomic-cold-casesynonymyWasmann-1896Coptotermes formosanus
Formosan subterranean termite
Coptotermes formosanus, the Formosan subterranean termite, is a highly destructive invasive termite species native to southern China and Taiwan. It has spread worldwide through human transport, particularly via shipping, and is now established in the southern United States, Hawaii, Japan, and other regions. Colonies can contain millions of individuals with foraging ranges up to 100 meters. The species exhibits complex social behaviors including age-based task division, central nest molting, and nitrogen recycling through exuviae consumption.
Cryptocercidae
brown-hooded cockroaches, wood roaches
Cryptocercidae is a family of wingless, subsocial cockroaches comprising the single genus Cryptocercus. These insects are obligate inhabitants of decaying wood in temperate montane forests across eastern Asia and North America. They exhibit extended parental care and share wood-digesting gut symbionts with termites, supporting the hypothesis of termite evolution from within cockroaches. The family is notable for its limited dispersal ability and sensitivity to forest succession patterns.
Cryptocercus clevelandi
Cryptocercus clevelandi is a wood-feeding cockroach species described from the northwestern United States. Like other members of the genus Cryptocercus, it harbors bacterial symbionts in its fat body that aid in digesting cellulose from wood. The species was formally described by Byers in 1997.
Cryptocercus garciai
wood roach
Cryptocercus garciai is a wood roach species discovered in 1998 in the Chattahoochee National Forest of northern Georgia. It was the second Cryptocercus species documented in North America, challenging the previous assumption that C. punctulatus was the sole representative of the genus on the continent. The species was named in honor of American musician Jerry Garcia. Like other members of its genus, it exhibits subsocial behavior and dependence on gut symbionts for wood digestion.
Cryptotermes brevis
West Indian drywood termite, powderpost termite
Cryptotermes brevis is a drywood termite in the family Kalotermitidae. Unlike subterranean termites, it does not require soil contact and can complete its entire life cycle within dry wood. The species is a significant invasive pest, having been anthropogenically dispersed from its probable Neotropical origin to tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. It infests structural timbers, furniture, and wooden objects, causing substantial economic damage. Colonies remain entirely within infested wood pieces, making detection difficult until damage is advanced.
Cryptotermes cavifrons
Florida Drywood Termite
Cryptotermes cavifrons is a drywood termite native to North America, commonly known as the Florida Drywood Termite. It constructs one-piece nests entirely within dry, solid wood, where the colony lives and feeds without foraging outside. The species exhibits very low cuticular and nest microbial loads compared to dampwood termites, reflecting its arid nesting environment.
Heterotermes
subterranean termites
Heterotermes is a genus of subterranean termites with near-cosmopolitan distribution. Members are eusocial insects forming large colonies with distinct castes: primary reproductives (alates), nymphoid neotenic secondary reproductives, workers, and soldiers. The genus is closely related to Reticulitermes. Several species are significant pests of timber, crops, and structures.
Incisitermes schwarzi
Schwarz's Drywood Termite
Incisitermes schwarzi is a drywood termite species in the family Kalotermitidae, commonly known as Schwarz's Drywood Termite. It inhabits dry, dead wood in intact branches and exhibits a one-piece nesting ecology where colonies remain within their food source. Colonies are relatively small, typically containing 50–250 individuals with mixed developmental stages. The species shows strong social disease resistance mechanisms, with grouped individuals significantly more resistant to fungal infection than isolated ones.
Incisitermes snyderi
Southeastern Drywood Termite
A drywood termite species in the family Kalotermitidae, found in the southeastern United States. Colonies are small to moderate in size and live entirely within wood without soil contact. The species is a significant pest of structural timber and wooden objects in its range.
Kalotermitidae
Drywood Termites
Kalotermitidae, commonly known as drywood termites, is a basal family of termites with 21 genera and 419 species, making it the second most diverse termite family after Termitidae. The family exhibits a cosmopolitan circumtropical distribution and is characterized by colonies that inhabit sound wood without soil contact. Unlike many termites, Kalotermitidae lack a true worker caste; instead, immature individuals called pseudergates perform worker functions before developing into soldiers or reproductives. The family includes significant pest species such as Cryptotermes brevis and Incisitermes minor, which cause economic damage to wooden structures, furniture, and utility towers worldwide.
Nasutitermitinae
Nasute Termites
Nasutitermitinae is a subfamily of higher termites within Termitidae, comprising 81 genera and approximately 605 species with near-cosmopolitan distribution. The subfamily is distinguished by a highly derived soldier caste bearing vestigial mandibles and a prominent fontanellar process (the nasus) used to project chemical defenses. Notable genera include Nasutitermes, Hospitalitermes, and Constrictotermes, the latter two recognized for forming conspicuous above-ground foraging trails.
Odontotaenius disjunctus
patent-leather beetle, horned passalus, betsy beetle, Jerusalem beetle
Odontotaenius disjunctus is a large, flight-capable but predominantly walking beetle that inhabits decaying hardwood logs in temperate North American forests. Adults exhibit subsocial behavior, including cooperative brood care and acoustic communication via stridulation. The species plays a significant role in wood decomposition through specialized gut microbiomes that digest lignocellulose.
Pterotermes occidentis
western dry-wood termite
Pterotermes occidentis is a primitive dry-wood termite and the sole species in the monotypic genus Pterotermes. It inhabits extremely arid environments in the Sonoran Desert region, living entirely within single pieces of dry timber. Unlike many termites, it does not maintain contact with soil and completes its entire life cycle within its wood host.
Xylotopus par
Xylotopus par is an aquatic xylophagous midge in the family Chironomidae. The larvae colonize submerged wood substrates in freshwater streams, feeding on decaying wood. Populations exhibit plastic phenology, with development rates varying based on wood substrate quality—larvae in fresh, introduced wood can complete development in a single summer, while those in indigenous logs normally require a full year. The species has been studied for its unique bacterial associations in the larval midgut, where morphotypically uniform bacteria form a well-defined band in the posterior midgut's ectoperitrophic space.
Zootermopsis angusticollis
Pacific Dampwood Termite
Zootermopsis angusticollis is a dampwood termite species native to the Pacific coast of North America. It is among the largest termites in North America and is notable for its strict dependence on moist, decaying wood. The species is eusocial, living in colonies with distinct castes including workers, soldiers, nymphs, and reproductives. It has been extensively studied as a model organism for hindgut symbiont ecology and represents one of the best-studied lower termites in terms of gut microbial communities.
Zootermopsis nevadensis nuttingi
Zootermopsis nevadensis nuttingi is a subspecies of dampwood termite in the family Archotermopsidae, described by Haverty & Thorne in 1989. It inhabits coastal forests of the western United States where it contributes to wood decomposition through specialized hindgut symbionts. The subspecies is distinguished from other Z. nevadensis populations by morphological and geographic characteristics. Like other dampwood termites, it requires moist wood substrates and lacks the specialized adaptations for arid environments seen in drywood termites.