A review of the family Macrotermitidae (Isoptera) from the Oriental Region

Abstract

The macrotermitidae constitute essentially a family of fungus growing termites and includes 12 genera and 304 species and subspecies from ethiopian, malagasy and oriental regions. Mille the majority of species live in somewhat diffused pattern of subterranean nest system (microtermes) and some species of other genera), many species of macrotermes, odontotermes and hypotermes live habitually in concentrated underground nests or construct large earth mounds of fantastic form and size, with more compact underground layout in the african and asian tropical and subtropical regions, including islands in the indian ocean (within the oriental region). In certain well-defined regions and under optimum conditions, these mounds attain gigantic dimensions, reaching at times well over six metres height and basal diameter of about 12 metres (beeson, 1941; harris, 1961).