Zootermopsis angusticollis

Zootermopsis angusticollis
Pacific Coast dampwood termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis, British Columbia
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Blattodea
Infraorder: Isoptera
Family: Archotermopsidae
Genus: Zootermopsis
Species:
Z. angusticollis
Binomial name
Zootermopsis angusticollis
Hagen, 1858

Zootermopsis angusticollis is a species of termite (Isoptera) in the family Archotermopsidae, a group known as the Pacific dampwood termites, or the rottenwood termites. As their name suggests, the dampwood termites can only survive by living off of wood that contains high amounts of moisture. They are found along the wet environments of the Pacific coast of North America. Most are found in the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Western Nevada and in southern British Columbia. Termites are well known to be destroyers of wood, and although the dampwood termites can cause some damage, they are not as notoriously known to cause as much damage to buildings as the drywood termites. They occasionally have been carried to other parts of the country through wood shipments, but have not been able to become established in these areas due to undesirable environmental conditions.