Microhodotermes viator

Microhodotermes viator
	Soldier and winged reproductive castes of Microhodotermes viator
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Blattodea
Infraorder:	Isoptera
Family:	Hodotermitidae
Genus:	Microhodotermes
Species:	M. viator
Binomial name
	Microhodotermes viator; (Latreille, 1804)
Synonyms
	Termes viator (Latreille, 1804); Hodotermes (Hodotermes) faurei (Fuller, 1921); Hodotermes (Hodotermes) peringueyi (Fuller, 1921); Hodotermes (Hodotermes) silvestrii (Fuller, 1921); Hodotermes (Hodotermes) thomseni (Fuller, 1921); Hodotermes viator hageni (Fuller, 1921); Hodotermes aurivillii (Sjöstedt, 1900);

Microhodotermes viator, commonly called the southern harvester termite,^[2] the Karoo harvesting termite,^[3] the wood-eating harvester termite,^[4] houtkapper (lit. 'wood cutter'), and stokkiesdraer (lit. 'stick carrier'),^[5] is a species of harvester termite native to the desert shrubland of Namibia and South Africa. The eusocial insects inhabit soil mounds called heuweltjies. In 2024, researchers found inhabited Microhodotermes viator mounds up to 34,000 years old—by far the oldest active termite structures ever dated.^[6]

^ "Microhodotermes viator (Latreille, 1804) | COL". www.catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
^ McAuliffe, Joseph R.; Hoffman, M. Timm; McFadden, Leslie D.; Bell, Wesley; Jack, Sam; King, Matthew P.; Nixon, Veronica (2019-03-01). "Landscape patterning created by the southern harvester termite, Microhodotermes viator: Spatial dispersion of colonies and alteration of soils". Journal of Arid Environments. 162: 26–34. Bibcode:2019JArEn.162...26M. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.11.010. ISSN 0140-1963.
^ van Ark, H. (1969). "Control of the Karoo harvesting termite, Microhodotermes viator (Latreille) (Hodotermitidae, Isoptera)". Phycophylactica. 1 (1): 1–8 – via Sabinet African Journals.
^ Suttie, J. M.; Reynolds, Stephen G.; Batello, Caterina; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, eds. (2005). Grasslands of the world. Plant production and protection series. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. p. 98. ISBN 978-92-5-105337-9. OCLC 61697614.
^ Annecke, David P.; Moran, V. Cliff (1982). Insects and mites of cultivated plants in South Africa. Durban Woburn, Mass: Butterworths. ISBN 978-0-409-08398-9.
^ "34,000-year-old termite mounds in South Africa are still being used". Mongabay Environmental News. 2024-06-28. Retrieved 2024-07-05.

[1] "Microhodotermes viator (Latreille, 1804) | COL". www.catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 2024-07-05.

[2] McAuliffe, Joseph R.; Hoffman, M. Timm; McFadden, Leslie D.; Bell, Wesley; Jack, Sam; King, Matthew P.; Nixon, Veronica (2019-03-01). "Landscape patterning created by the southern harvester termite, Microhodotermes viator: Spatial dispersion of colonies and alteration of soils". Journal of Arid Environments. 162: 26–34. Bibcode:2019JArEn.162...26M. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.11.010. ISSN 0140-1963.

[3] van Ark, H. (1969). "Control of the Karoo harvesting termite, Microhodotermes viator (Latreille) (Hodotermitidae, Isoptera)". Phycophylactica. 1 (1): 1–8 – via Sabinet African Journals.

[4] Suttie, J. M.; Reynolds, Stephen G.; Batello, Caterina; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, eds. (2005). Grasslands of the world. Plant production and protection series. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. p. 98. ISBN 978-92-5-105337-9. OCLC 61697614.

[:8-5] Annecke, David P.; Moran, V. Cliff (1982). Insects and mites of cultivated plants in South Africa. Durban Woburn, Mass: Butterworths. ISBN 978-0-409-08398-9.

[6] "34,000-year-old termite mounds in South Africa are still being used". Mongabay Environmental News. 2024-06-28. Retrieved 2024-07-05.

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