Bug FAQSouthern Harvester Termite
Microhodotermes viator · Order: Blattodea · Family: Hodotermitidae
Also called: Karoo harvesting termite, wood-eating harvester termite
Source: Wikipedia
Alates are about 14 mm long, soldiers range 7 to 13 mm and workers 6 to 8 mm. They live in desert shrubland of South Africa and Namibia, foraging during winter days and summer nights. Workers cut grass stalks and woody plant pieces 1 to 2 cm long and bring them to underground chambers.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The holotype has a clear red-brown head about 3.8 mm wide.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Alates average 14.01 mm in length. Soldiers are 7 to 13 mm long with long thin jaws that curve only at the tips; workers are 6 to 8 mm long with indistinctly striped brown abdomens.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found on the west coast of South Africa and Namibia. They emerge from colonies in winter during the day and in summer at night.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Forage in groups, cutting grass stalks and woody plants (especially Pteronia) into 1 to 2 cm pieces and storing them underground. Digest cellulose, acting as important decomposers in desert ecosystems.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Form eusocial colonies of several thousand with workers and soldiers. Show polymorphism and sexual dimorphism, with males often larger than females.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Forage during winter days and summer nights, timing unpredictable to predators.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Native to desert shrubland of Namibia and South Africa, known as the southern harvester termite.
Source: Wikipedia
Questions people ask
How big are southern harvester termites?
Alates are about 14 mm long; soldiers range 7 to 13 mm and workers 6 to 8 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where do they live?
They are found in the desert shrubland of South Africa and Namibia, especially on the west coast.
Source: Wikipedia
What do they eat?
They cut grass stalks and woody plant pieces 1 to 2 cm long and bring them to underground chambers, digesting cellulose.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hodotermitidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microhodotermes_viator
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.