Species Coptotermes lacteus (Froggatt, 1898)
Milk Termite
- Termes lacteus Froggatt, W.W. 1898. Australian Termitidae. Part III. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 22: 721-758 pls xxxiv-xxxv [date on journal 1897, actual date of publication 4 June, 1898 Musgrave, A. 1932. Bibliography of Australian Entomology 1775–1930 with Biographical Notes on Authors and Collectors. Sydney : Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales viii 380 pp. [103]] [721] [subsequent spelling upheld by ICZN 1994. Opinion 1781. Termes lacteus Froggatt, 1898 (currently Coptotermes lacteus; Insecta, Isoptera): specific name conserved. Bull. Zool. Nomen. 51(3): 275–276].
Type data:
Lectotype ANIC No. 9049 ♂ alate, Shoalhaven, NSW.
Paralectotype(s) ANIC soldier, worker (morphotypes); NMV alates, soldier, worker.Subsequent designation references:
Hill, G.F. 1942. Termites (Isoptera) from the Australian Region. Melbourne : Council for Scientific and Industrial Research 479 pp. 24 pls. [162]. - Termes lactis Froggatt, W.W. 1897. White ants, with some account of their habits and depredations. Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales 8: 297-302 [plate facing p. 297].
Type data:
Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown, Colo Vale, NSW. - Coptotermes sedulus Hill, G.F. 1923. New termites from central and south-east Australia. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 48: 40-48 [40].
Type data:
Lectotype AMNH soldier, Belgrave, VIC.
Paralectotype(s) AMNH soldiers, workers (type colony).Subsequent designation references:
Watson, J.A.L., Miller, L.R. & Abbey, H.M. 1998. Isoptera. pp. 163-250 in Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds). Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Archaeognatha, Zygentoma, Blattodea, Isoptera, Mantodea, Dermaptera, Phasmatodea, Embioptera, Zoraptera. Melbourne : CSIRO Publishing, Australia Vol. 23 xiii 464 pp.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
Distribution
States
Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria
Extra Distribution Information
Primarily coastal and montane, N to Brisbane area, apparently a complex of species.
IBRA
ACT, NSW, Qld, Vic: Australian Alps (AA), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Desert Uplands (DEU), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders (FLI), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Wet Tropics (WT)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
- Queensland: NE coastal
- Victoria: Murray-Darling basin, SE coastal
Ecological Descriptors
Soil dweller, terrestrial.
Extra Ecological Information
Social, nests primarily in mounds, also tree trunks, diet primarily weathered wood, not sound timber in service, slight economic importance.
General References
Brown, W.V., Watson, J.A.L., Carter, F.L., Lacey, M.J., Barrett, R.A. & McDaniel, C.A. 1990. Preliminary examination of cuticular hydrocarbons of worker termites as chemotaxonomic characters for some Australian species of Coptotermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Sociobiology 16: 305-328 [311-317, 325-326] (cuticular hydrocarbons, species complex)
Hill, G.F. 1942. Termites (Isoptera) from the Australian Region. Melbourne : Council for Scientific and Industrial Research 479 pp. 24 pls. [159-161] (biology, importance)
Watson, J.A.L. & Abbey, H.M. 1993. Atlas of Australian Termites. Melbourne & Canberra : Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation 158 pp. [34] (distribution)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |