Redescription of the drywood termite Incisitermes inamurae (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) from Southern Taiwan

Abstract

Kalotermes inamurae Oshima 1912 (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) is reassigned to Incisitermes (Krishna, 1961) based on the winged imago that is described herein for the first time. The two size morphs of the soldier caste are redescribed, as is the distinctly different morphology of the soldier of incipient colonies. The distribution of I. inamurae is restricted to the tropical zone of Taiwan. Another tropical species, Incisitermes mcgregori (Light), from Luzon, Philippines, has similar soldier morphology and may be a junior synonym of I. inamurae. The five Incisitermes species reported in Japan, China, Taiwan, and the Philippines were compared morphologically. © 2009 Entomological Society of America.