Updating the Systematic Status of Genus Heterotermes (Rhinotermitidae: Isoptera: Blattodea) by Combining Morphometric...

Area of Science:

• Entomology
• Ecology
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Termites are eusocial insects with significant ecological roles and pest impacts.
• Understanding termite diversity is crucial for managing agricultural and structural damage.
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, presents diverse agro-ecological zones for biodiversity assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess termite diversity in three districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
• To identify termite species using morphometric and molecular methods.
• To document new distribution records and host substrates for termite species.

Main Methods:

• Field sampling using mud galleries and NIFA termaps.
• Morphometric analysis using fourteen characters/indices and Principal Component Analysis (PCA).
• DNA extraction from soldier castes for MtDNA COII barcoding and Maximum Likelihood analyses.

Main Results:

• Identification of *Heterotermes gretudae* and *Heterotermes indicola*.
• *H. gretudae* is recorded in Pakistan for the first time, with new host substrates in Buner and Swabi districts.
• *H. indicola* has a new locality record; PCA explained 74.9% of variation, validating species identification.

Conclusions:

• The study expands the known distribution of termite species in Pakistan.
• Morphometric and molecular data confirm species identification and phylogenetic relationships.
• Novel COII sequences were submitted to GenBank, contributing to global genetic databases.