Belongs within: Rhinotermitidae.
Heterotermes is a widespread genus of termites in which soldiers have a subrectangular head with a more or less pointed labrum (Maiti 2006).
Characters (Maiti 2006): Imago: Generally pale yellowish throughout body, with fairly dense hairs. Head subsquarish, almost as long as broad, posterior margin round, epicranial suture absent. Fontanelle small, placed almost at middle of head. Eyes oval and distinct, generally bulging out, ocelli (if present) dot-like. Antennae with 13–19 segments, 2–4 variable. Postclypeus chitinised, weakly convex, pilose. Anteclypeus whitish, apilose. Mandibles each with apical and three marginal teeth. Left with apical finger-like, first marginal slightly smaller than apical, second as long as apical, third smaller with long anterior margin. Right with apical finger-like, first marginal small, rudimentary, placed at anterior base of second marginal, second triangular, third short but with long posterior margin. Pronotum generally narrower than head, anterior margin almost straight or weakly incurved, posterior also with feeble median emargination, sides weakly converging posteriorly. Tibial spur formula 3:2:2. Tarsi four-jointed. Wings fairly light yellow, transparent and with both asteroid and non-asteroid microasters and hairs, more hairy sometimes on margins and veins. Fore wing with costa thick, bordering anterior margin, radius as thick as costa and running parallel with and close to it, median arising separately from scale with branches in distal half; cubitus arising independently from scale with 10–11 branches. Hind wing with costa and radius as in fore wing, median separately arising from radius outside scale, rest similar to fore wing, cubitus with 9–11 branches to posterior margin. Cerci two-jointed. Styli in male single-jointed. Soldier: Head light yellowish to pale brownish. Head and pronotum moderately and abdomen fairly densely hairy. Head subrectangular, longer than broad, sides subparallel, posterior margin round, frons sloping in front. Fontanelle circular and minute with chitinised small tube, placed at most at anterior third. Eyes and ocelli absent. Antennae with 12–19 segments, 2–4 variable. Labrum subtriangular with hyaline pointed apex. Postclypeus flat, pilose. Mandibles long, substraight with weakly incurved apices, left with robust blunt projection at inner base and with 3–4 crenulations in basal inner half, right with 1–2 minute crenulations at basal inner margin. Postmentum elongately club-shaped. Pronotum flat, subreniform, generally narrower than head, side narrowing posteriorly, anterior margin weakly or strongly notched at middle, posterior margin substraight or feebly emarginate medially. Tibial spur formula 3:2:2. Tarsi four-jointed. Cerci two-jointed, styli single-jointed.
<==Heterotermes Froggatt 1896 [incl. Leucotermes Silvestri 1901, Psalidotermes Silvestri 1909]M06
|--H. tenuis (Hagen 1858)M06 (see below for synonymy)
|--H. aculabialis (Tsai & Huang 1977) [=Reticulitermes aculabialis]M06
|--H. auriusM06
|--H. balwanti Mathur & Chhotani 1969M06
|--‘Leucotermes’ barretti Hill 1927 (n. d.)H42
|--H. brevicatena Watson & Miller in Watson, Brown et al. 1989WB89
|--H. canalifronsM06
|--H. cardiniM06
|--H. ceylonicus (Holmgren 1911) [=Leucotermes ceylonicus]M06
|--H. convexinotatus (Snyder 1924) (see below for synonymy)M06
|--H. crinitusM06
|--H. ferox (Froggatt 1898)WB89 [=Termes feroxWB89, T. (Leucotermes) feroxM06, Psalidotermes feroxM06]
|--H. gaoyaoensisM06
|--H. gertrudae Roonwal 1953M06
|--H. gingjiangensisM06
|--H. hainanensis (Tsai & Huang 1977) [=Reticulitermes hainanensis]M06
|--H. hunanensis (Tsai & Huang 1980) [=Reticulitermes hunanensis]M06
|--H. indicola (Wasmann 1902) [=Leucotermes indicola]M06
|--H. insularis (Wasmann 1902) (see below for synonymy)M06
|--H. latilabrum Tsai & Chen 1963M06
|--H. leptomandibularisM06
|--H. longicatena Watson & Miller in Watson, Brown et al. 1989WB89
|--H. longiceps (Snuder 1924) [=Leucotermes longiceps]M06
|--H. maculatusM06
|--H. malabaricus Snyder 1933M06
|--H. occiduus (Hill 1927)WB89, M06 [=Leucotermes occiduusM06]
|--H. omanae Chhotani 1988M06
|--H. pamatensis Kemner 1934M06
|--H. paradoxus (Froggatt 1898) [=Termes paradoxus, T. (Eutermes) paradoxus, Leucotermes paradoxus]M06
| |--H. p. paradoxusM06
| |--H. p. intermedius Hill 1932M06
| |--H. p. validus Hill 1915M06 [=Leucotermes validusH42]
| `--H. p. venustus (Hill 1927) [=Leucotermes venustus]M06
|--H. perfidus (Silvestri 1936) [=Leucotermes perfidus]M06
|--H. philippinensis (Light 1921) [=Leucotermes philippinensis]M06
|--H. primaerus Snyder 1960P92
|--H. sulcatus Mathews 1977M06
|--H. tenuior (Holmgren 1913) [=Termes tenuior, Leucotermes tenuior]M06
|--H. vagus (Hill 1927) [=Leucotermes vagus]M06
`--H. wittmeri Chhotani & Bose 1982M06
Heterotermes convexinotatus (Snyder 1924) [=Leucotermes convexinotatus, H. convexinetus; incl. H. orthognathus Light 1933, H. pallidus Light 1935]M06
Heterotermes insularis (Wasmann 1902) [=Leucotermes insularis, Termes (Leucotermes) insularis non White in Walker 1853 (not preoc. if in dif. gen.)]M06
Heterotermes tenuis (Hagen 1858)M06 [=Termes tenuisM06, Leucotermes tenuisM06; incl. Leucotermes clarki Hill 1922H42, *Heterotermes platycephalus Froggatt 1896M06, Termes (Leucotermes) platycephalusH42]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[H42] Hill, G. F. 1942. Termites (Isoptera) from the Australian Region (including Australia, New Guinea and islands south of the Equator between 140°E. longitude and 170°W. longitude). Commonwealth of Australia Council for Scientific and Industrial Research: Melbourne.
[M06] Maiti, P. K. 2006. A taxonomic monograph on the world species of termites of the family Rhinotermitidae (Isoptera: Insecta). Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India 20 (4): i–viii, 1–272.
[P92] Poinar, G. O., Jr. 1992. Life in Amber. Stanford University Press: Stanford.
[WB89] Watson, J. A. L., W. V. Brown, L. R. Miller, F. L. Carter & M. J. Lacey. 1989. Taxonomy of Heterotermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in south-eastern Australia: cuticular hydrocarbons of workers, and soldier and alate morphology. Systematic Entomology 14: 299–325.