Notch-Tipped Flower Longhorn vs Light-colored Subterranean Termite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Notch-Tipped Flower Longhorn Light-colored Subterranean Termite
Scientific Name Typocerus sinuatus Heterotermes aureus
Order Coleoptera Blattodea
Family Cerambycidae Rhinotermitidae
Size 9-15 mm 4-6 mm
Habitat Forests Deserts & Drylands
Diet Wood Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Eastern North America Arizona, southern California, northwestern Mexico
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Notch-Tipped Flower Longhorn

A yellow longhorn beetle with wavy dark bands across its elytra. It is a common flower visitor in eastern North American forests.

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Did You Know?

Its color pattern varies so much that early entomologists described several variants as separate species.

Light-colored Subterranean Termite

A desert-adapted subterranean termite common in the Sonoran Desert of the southwestern United States and Mexico. Colonies build extensive underground tunnel systems and infest structural wood. Workers are pale golden-yellow in color.

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Did You Know?

This is the most common structural pest termite in the Sonoran Desert region, thriving in one of the hottest and driest environments inhabited by any termite.