The Cubitermitinae are a subfamily of higher termites (Termitidae) found only in sub-Saharan Africa [14], and considered as a monophyletic group [3]. They are characterized notably by the presence of a mixed segment in the gut and by a blind diverticulum, or caecum, on the paunch of the hindgut, in workers, soldiers, and imagoes. This caecum is generally small and can take various aspects (Fig. 1). Soldiers have sword-like mandibles that are of the slashing type, also called the reaping type. They also have a well-developed frontal gland; its defensive secretion, containing diterpenes, flows upon an enemy through a frontal pore surrounded by a tuft of setae located on the frons. This frontal tuft is, however, reduced to a small number of very short hairs in the genus Mucrotermes and is completely lacking in the monospecific genus Apilitermes. In Apilitermes longicepsthe frontal pore is obstructed and without setae, when attacked, the “kamikaze” soldier suddenly crosses its mandibles,...
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Josens, G., Deligne, J. (2021). Cubitermitinae. In: Starr, C.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Social Insects. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28102-1_32
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