Species Composition of Termites in Coastal Karnataka

Coastal regions have a different climate than inlands; hence may contribute to variation in the diversity of organisms they possess. Termite fauna of coastal Karnataka is understudied. Hence the present investigation was carried out to know the species composition of termites of coastal Karnataka, which includes three districts viz., Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada. Soldier caste was used for morphological identification. A total of 29 species belonging to 11 genera and six subfamilies under two families viz., Termitidae and Rhinotermitidae, were recorded. Termitidae was the most dominant family, with 25 species belonging to nine genera. Among subfamilies, Termitinae and Macrotermitinae contributed the highest number of species (nine), followed by Nasutitermitinae (four) and Apicotermitinae (three). Genus Odontotermes of subfamily Macrotermitinae was frequently collected and composed of highest number of species (eight).