Neotermes agilis ( Sjoestedt , 1902)

Onagbola, Ebenezer O. & Scheffrahn, Rudolf H., 2017, African Neotermes: redescriptions of imago and soldier castes of N. aburiensis and N. agilis (Isoptera, Kalotermitidae), ZooKeys 683, pp. 25-37 : 25

Neotermes agilis ( Sjoestedt, 1902)

Calotermes agilis Sjöstedt 1902: 302 (imago).

Calotermes agilis Sjöstedt 1904: 15-16 (imago described; Cameroon).

Neotermes agilis , Krishna 1961: 325 (comb. n.).

Material examined.

GHANA, Bobiri Butterfly Reserve; 6.690, -1.338, 12 Sept 2006, L.R. Davis, UF no. AFR188; 2 soldiers, 16 alates, nymphs ex: "hard chunk of wood"; 2 alates, 2 nymphs, and soldier photographs sent to K. Krishna 12 Oct 2006.

Imago (Fig. 5, Table 3). Small species. Head with vertex and frons reddish-brown grading to light reddish brown in posterior; lighter near suture of anteclypeus. Pronotum concolorous with dorsum of head except for a lighter area in anterior third; anteclypeus yellowish and labrum concolorous with genae. Tergites yellowish-brown, sternites pale yellow to hyaline. Coxa and femora pale yellow, femora and tarsi light brown. Chevron pattern from overlapping wing scales, meso- and metanotum concolorous with vertex. Eyes greyish black; ocelli and antennal articles concolorous with labrum. In dorsal view, lateral margins of head converge slightely; cranial sutures, thin but distinct. Vertex smooth, slight concavity of frons. Eyes large, slightly protruding, and nearly circular. Ocelli very large, ellipsoid, touching eye. Antennae with 14-16 articles. Pronotum in dorsal view subrectate. Anterior margin of pronotum weakly incised; posterior margin weakly incised in middle; lateral margins evenly rounded. A few scattered erect setae on head; pronotum with numerous long and shorter setae along margins (Fig. 5). Costal margin, radius, radial sector, and media of forewing brown and sclerotized along proximal 1/3 of wing, abrupty becoming hyaline for their remainders (Fig. 3). Median vein with weak posterior bend after suture; coalescing with radial sector at about half length of wing. RS+M hylaline with about 5 anterior branches. Cubitus brown just beyond suture line, with about 4 browish branches to proximal 1/5 of wing 6-7 hyaline branches beyond; membrane pigmented only in basal 1/5; remainder hyaline. Arolia absent. Mandible dentition typical of genus.

Soldier (Fig. 6; Table 4). Monomorphic. Head capsule dark redish brown in a narrow strip anterior to antennae; remainder of head capsule light yellowish orange. Mandibles black beyond humps, humps dark reddish brown. Eye spots faint or absent. Pronotum light yellowish orange. Head capsule in dorsal view, subquadrate; lateral margins slightly convex. In lateral view, head capsule ellipsoid. Frons sloping from vertex ≅40°; mandibles curved upward ≅20°. Scattered medium and short setae on head capsule and pronotum. Periantennal carina weak; mandibles short and stout; left mandible with three submarginal teeth, right mandible with two large subapical teeth, distal tooth forming right angle with apical tooth, apical teeth angled 50°; basal humps slightly inflated. Labrum linguiform, medium-sized, with long terminal setae. Antennae with 12 articles, third article somewhat enlarged but shorter than fouth and fifth combined. Pronotum as broad as head, wide; anterior margin shallowly incised; anterolateral corners rounded ≅70°, lateral margins parallel; posterior margin rectate in middle. Front femora inflated.

Comparisons.

The fore wing venation of N. agilis is unique among Neotermes and other kalotermitids in that the major veins are hyaline beyond their bases and the radial sector and median veins coalesce to form a single vein. The venation of N. agilis is close to Rugitermes , but in Rugitermes the distal two thirds of median vein is sclerotized. All other Neotermes have fore wings with fully sclerotized major veins and a median vein which remains independent of the radial sector (see Ware et al. 2010). The soldier of N. agilis is among the smallest of the genus and has an unusually broad pronotum.