1Regional Observatory of Termites Control, Reunion Island (French)
2Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, Mauritius Island
*Email: florent.chopinet@cma-reunion.fr (corresponding author)
Online Published on 18 February, 2026.
The Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, in Mauritius, is globally recognized for its floristic biodiversity, housing >8000 trees. However, this historic plant heritage is under constant pressure due to termite infestations. This study first sought to inventory the species of termites present, then to compare them to the results of previous studies. The study conducted in 2019 and 2022 identifies seven species Procryptotermes falcifer (Krishna), Postelectrotermes howa (Wasmann), Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann), Prorhinotermes canalifrons (Sjöstedt), Nasutitermes voeltzkowi (Moutia), Cryptotermes pallidus (Rambur). A new record of the Rhinotermitidae viz., Heterotermes malabaricus (Snyder) from Mauritian territory is documented.
Heterotermes malabaricus, Termites, Rhinotermitidae, Kalotermitidae, Termitidae, Invasives species, Mauritius Island, Botanical Garden, Social insects, Inventory, Genus, Species, New record