Kalotermes flavicollis, the yellow-necked termite

[ItalianTermiteMan]

Pseudergates (false workers) and soldiers of Kalotermes flavicollis from one of my captive colonies.

These termites with a mediterranean distribution nest exclusively inside wood and form rather small colonies that usually remain under 2000 members, though bigger numbers are possible. Their soldiers, that can exceed one centimeter in lenght, sport large armored heads and robust toothed mandibles and are very well adapted to defend the narrow passages of their nests, which are often barely wider than their heads. Just like in all other members of their family (Kalotermitidae) K. flavicollis lack a true worker caste, which is replaced instead by totipotent juvenile working forms called pseudergates, which while usually remaining so for all their lives retain the capability of molting in any other caste (from soldiers to swarmers) should the need arise.

Italy

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Pseudergates (false workers) and soldiers of Kalotermes flavicollis from one of my captive colonies.

These termites with a mediterranean distribution nest exclusively inside wood and form rather small colonies that usually remain under 2000 members, though bigger numbers are possible. Their soldiers, that can exceed one centimeter in lenght, sport large armored heads and robust toothed mandibles and are very well adapted to defend the narrow passages of their nests, which are often barely wider than their heads. Just like in all other members of their family (Kalotermitidae) K. flavicollis lack a true worker caste, which is replaced instead by totipotent juvenile working forms called pseudergates, which while usually remaining so for all their lives retain the capability of molting in any other caste (from soldiers to swarmers) should the need arise.

Italy


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How many do you have wow that’s amazing! The soldier’s definitely got big mandibles although not as long as the other species you showed . Do you keep other termites , ants ? Or stuff ?

 

[ItalianTermiteMan]

How many do you have wow that’s amazing! The soldier’s definitely got big mandibles although not as long as the other species you showed . Do you keep other termites , ants ? Or stuff ?

I keep both termites (which are my main passion) and ants, both exotic and Italian. Regarding termites i currently have Hodotermopsis sjostedti (my favorite), Neotermes cfr castaneus, Prorhinotermes canalifrons, P. simplex, Coptotermes gestroi, Incisitermes schwarzi, Kalotermes flavicollis and Reticulitermes lucifugus. I would absolutely love to keep more species, but obtaining exotic termites is very difficult and i'm already extremely grateful to the varies European researchers that provided me to what i'm keeping now (with the exception of R. lucifugus and K. flavicollis, which are native to my country and i originally collected in the wild). Another problem of termite keeping is that while several species are easy to care for and almost zero maintenance in the right settings, many more seems to be exceedingly diffucilt to keep even for laboratories headed by expert termitologists, plus info on the topic is very very scarce.