New termite (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae) records from Georgia

Abstract

Deliberate surveys and submitted samples have yielded five termite species not previously recorded from Georgia including Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Family Rhinotermitidae), and Calcaritermes nearcticus (Snyder), Cryptotermes brevis (Walker), Incisitermes minor (Hagen), and Kalotermes approximatus Snyder (Family Kalotermitidae) bringing the total number of termite species in Georgia to nine. Coptotermes formosanus, C. brevis, and I. minor are all non-endemic pest species in Georgia. The Georgia records for C. nearcticus are the first outside of Florida and represent new northern limits, while collections of K. approximatus bridge a former gap in its north-south distribution. Previous records for Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), R. hageni Banks, and R. virginicus (Banks) (Family Rhinotermitidae), and Incisitermes snyderi (Light) (Kalotermitidae) are confirmed, while the name R. malletei is relegated to nomen nudum status. The prospects for additional termite records and status of Reticulitermes taxonomy in Georgia are discussed.