Termitaphididae, occasionally called termite bugs, is a small tropicopolitan

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

true bugs Hemiptera (; ) is an order (biology), order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, Reduviidae, assassin bugs, Cimex, bed bugs, and shield bugs. ...

placed in the superfamily Aradoidea. Typically members of Termitaphididae are small, being an average of -, and flattened with laminae extending out from each body segment giving a round scale like appearance. Currently the family contains two genera and twelve known species. Members of Termitaphididae are

inquiline In zoology, an inquiline (from Latin ''inquilinus'', "lodger" or "tenant") is an animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms such as insects may live in the h ...

s lodging in the nests of host species of

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blatto ...

families

Termitidae Termitidae is the largest family of termites whose members are commonly known as the higher termites. They are evolutionarily the most specialised termite group, with their highly compartmentalized hindgut lacking the flagellated protozoans comm ...

and

Rhinotermitidae Rhinotermitidae is a family of termites (Isoptera). They feed on wood and can cause extensive damage to buildings or other wooden structures. About 345 species are recognized, among these are severe pests such as ''Coptotermes formosanus'', ''Cop ...

. Though considered a separate family in Aradoidea it has been suggested by Drs David Grimaldi and Michael Engel in 2008 that Termataphididae may in fact be highly derived members of Aradidae. Of the thirteen known species one '' Termitaphis circumvallata'' belongs to the monotypic genus '' Termitaphis'' and four of the remaining eleven species in '' Termitaradus'' are extinct, having only been found in amber. The living species are found worldwide in the tropical regions of Central and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

References

Aradoidea Heteroptera families {{Heteroptera-stub