Cubitermitinae

{{Short description|Subfamily of termites}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Mushroom-shaped termite mound, Belgian Congo.jpg

| image_upright = 0.8

| image_caption = Mushroom-shaped nest of Cubitermes sp.

| taxon = Cubitermitinae

| authority = Weidner, 1956: 99

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

}}

The Cubitermitinae are an Afrotropical subfamily of higher termites with 28 known genera and 147 species.Weidner, H. 1956. Contributions to the knowledge of termites in Angola, mainly based on the collections and observations of A. de Barros Machado (I. Contribution). Publicações Culturais da Companhia de Diamantes de Angola 29: 55-106.{{Cite journal |date=2009-07-25 |title=Termites (Isoptera): Their Phylogeny, Classification, and Rise to Ecological Dominance |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1206/651.1 |journal=American Museum Novitates |issue=3650 |pages=1 |doi=10.1206/651.1 |s2cid=56166416 |issn=0003-0082}}{{Cite journal |last1=ENGEL |first1=MICHAEL S. |last2=KRISHNA |first2=KUMAR |date=2004 |title=Family-Group Names for Termites (Isoptera) |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1206/0003-0082(2004)432<0001:fnfti>2.0.co;2 |journal=American Museum Novitates |issue=3432 |pages=1 |doi=10.1206/0003-0082(2004)432<0001:fnfti>2.0.co;2 |s2cid=86672880 |issn=0003-0082}}{{Cite journal |last1=Engel |first1=M.S. |year=2011 |title=Family-group names for termites (Isoptera), redux |journal= ZooKeys |issue=148 |pages = 171–184 |doi= 10.3897/zookeys.148.1682 |pmid=22287896 |pmc=3264418|doi-access=free |bibcode=2011ZooK..148..171E }} The nests of most species are either subterranean or found within the mounds of other termite species. The most well known genus of this subfamily is Cubitermes, which commonly build epigeal nests with one or more caps used to shield the nest against rainfall, giving them a characteristic mushroom shape.Treatise on the Isoptera of the world. (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 377). Krishna, Kumar.; Grimaldi, David A.; Krishna, Valerie.; Engel, Michael S. Volume 1; Page 123 Most members of this subfamily feed on soil humus. Due to their feeding habits, many species have a high pH within their digestive system, with Noditermes indoensis in particular exhibiting a pH around 12.28 within their anterior proctodeum; amongst the most alkaline environment known in a biological system.{{Cite journal |last=Brune |first=A. |last2=Kühl |first2=M. |date=1996-11-01 |title=pH profiles of the extremely alkaline hindguts of soil-feeding termites (Isoptera: Termitidae) determined with microelectrodes |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022191096000364 |journal=Journal of Insect Physiology |volume=42 |issue=11 |pages=1121–1127 |doi=10.1016/S0022-1910(96)00036-4 |issn=0022-1910}}