AMITERMES ARBOREUS ROISIN IN AUSTRALIA, WITH NOTES ON ITS BIOLOGY (ISOPTERA, TERMITIDAE)

Amitermes arboreus Roisin, which was described from a single colony collected in Papua New Guinea, is widely distributed in Northern Australia. Probably colonies are founded in the crowns of trees rather than at ground level. In Australia the species is commonly associated with Coptotermes acinaciformis (Froggatt) in eucalypt trees. The structure of the image/worker mandibles of A. arboreus indicates a humus- or soil-feeding diet and it probably feeds on material deposited in trees by C. acinaciformis.