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Hospitalitermes

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Description

The length of the workers and soldiers is about 5 mm. As with other genera in the subfamily, soldiers have a nasal tube from which, in case of danger, they shoot terpene-based repellents. They are one of the few species and genera of termites (Hospitalitermes, along with Lacessititermes and Longipeditermes) that forage in large columns in the open air. In the species Hospitalitermes hospitalis, the width of the columns is 20–30 mm (up to 8 termites in a row), they move away from the nest by an average of 29 m (up to 65 m), visiting neighboring trees and collecting lichens, mosses, fungi and other microepiphytes. One foraging expedition can involve up to 0.5 million individuals of one termite mound. It is also one of the few termites (together with Grallatotermes and Constrictotermes) that use living vascular plants (most termites feed on dead plants).

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Monotypic taxonTaxonomic group with only one subordinate taxonSpecies descriptionFormal description of a discovered speciesParaphylyType of taxonomic groupIUCN Red ListInventory of the global conservation status of biological speciesSubtropicsGeographic and climate zoneCommon nameName generally used for a taxon, group of taxa or organism(s)