First Record of the Soil-feeding Higher Termites (Isoptera: Termitidae) from Okinawa Island, the Central Ryukyus, Japan

Some termites have been introduced outside their native ranges, and it has been suggested that both wood-eating and wood-nesting lifestyles are critical for the transportation of propagules. Here, we present the first record of the soil-feeding and soil-nesting termite Pericapritermes nitobei (Isoptera: Termitidae) in the Motobu Peninsula on the northern part of Okinawa Island in the Central Ryukyus. The fact that previous extensive surveys of termites in the Ryukyu Archipelago did not detect P. nitobei in the Central Ryukyus, including the Motobu Peninsula, and its discontinuous distribution, suggest that P. nitobei has been recently introduced into the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa Island from the Yaeyama Islands, similar to the fungus-growing and soilnesting termite Odontotermes formosanus (Isoptera: Termitidae). Together with O. formosanus in the southern part of Okinawa Island, our findings raise the possibility that non-wood-feeding and non-wood-nesting termites can be introduced outside their native ranges by human activities.

Automated summary

This study presents the first record of the termite Pericapritermes nitobei on the Motobu Peninsula of Okinawa Island, suggesting that termites can potentially be introduced outside their native ranges through human activities.