The first drywood termite known to use snapping stick-like mandibles to defend its colony
Tuesday, October 2, 2018 - 19:20
in Biology & Nature
First-of-a-kind new species and genus of drywood termite was collected from two localities in Cameroon. With its soldier caste sporting a unique set of long, slender, stick-like 'jaws', the previously unknown insect is the first drywood termite known to rely on the so-called snapping mandibles as a defense strategy. The discovery poses a whole set of questions about the origin of the termite and its key feature.