Chroniodiplogaster formosiana sp. n. (Rhabditida: Diplogastridae) from Chinese populations of Odontotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Termitidae)

Chroniodiplogaster formosiana sp. n. (Rhabditida: Diplogastridae) is described from a population of Odontotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Termitidae) collected from dead (unidentified) wood at Dinghu Park, China. Characters of C. formosiana which separate it from C. aerivora (Cobb) are a longer tail, the presence of four micropapillae (quadriform condition), and the adjacent position of the second and third macropapillae on the male tail. The diplogasterid Pristionchus uniformis Fedorko & Stanuszek, which is transferred to Chroniodiplogaster, can be distinguished from both C. formosiana and C. aerivora by the position of its excretory pore. Variable results in experimental infection trials suggest that some still unknown factor or factors are important in the infection process. Further studies are necessary to better define these factors before C. formosiana can be considered as a biological control agent of the Formosan termite.