| Heterotermitidae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reticulitermes lucifugus imago | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Blattodea |
| Infraorder: | Isoptera |
| Nanorder: | Geoisoptera |
| Family: | Heterotermitidae Hellemans et al., 2024 |
| Type genus | |
| Heterotermes Froggatt, 1897 | |
Heterotermitidae, or the Subterranean termites , is a family of termites that was elevated to family level from the subfamily Heterotermitinae , formerly nested in Rhinotermitidae . [1] [2] Recent cladistic analyses as of 2024 position Heterotermitidae as sister to the Termitidae , forming the clade Geoisoptera . [1] This family includes the most economically significant termites, Reticulitermes, Heterotermes, and especially Coptotermes with C. formosanus in particular costing an estimated >$2.2 billion in annual damages within the United States alone. [3] They primarily feed through the soil-wood interface, foraging for food through the soil and mud tubes. [4] The nests of most species are typically diffuse subterranean galleries and tunnels, however Coptotermes is known to build more complex centralized nests built from carton, with some species building mounds. [5] [6]
