Termites are ecosystem engineers that play an important role in the biotransformation and re‐distribution of nutrients in soil. The dry forests are endemic repositories, but at same time, they are most threatened by extensive livestock and crop farming, fires, and climate change. In Colombia, the best‐protected dry forests are located in the north. The termite fauna of dry forests are poorly known. The aim was to identify the termite species occurring in tropical dry forests of the Colombian Caribbean coast in relation to diet and precipitation, temperature, elevation, and soil properties. A total of 32 species in 1,103 occurrences were found. Termitidae accounted for 78% of the species richness with the Anoplotermes‐group, Microcerotermes, and Nasutitermes being the dominant genera. Differences in species composition and abundance were found across sites. These differences may be linked to anthropogenic disturbance and polygyny and polydomy. Strikingly, our highest elevation site (334 m) had the highest species richness much higher than the two lower elevation sites. This implies an inversion of the common elevation‐diversity gradient, also found for termites which can be explained by increasing precipitation with elevation in the dry forest. An analysis of termite species richness at the global scale confirms that termite species richness correlates positively with rainfall. Hence, rainfall seems to positively affect termite diversity. In line, the studied Colombian tropical dry forests had low diversity compared to rain forests. A decline of species‐rich soil‐feeding termites with increasing aridity may explain why the highest termite diversity occurs in humid tropical rain forests. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

A new species of drywood termite (Kalotermitidae), Cryptotermes colombianus, is described and new records for Cryptotermes cylindroceps and Cryptotermes mangoldi are presented from the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Cryptotermes colombianus is described from two soldiers and genetic sequences. This unusual species differs noticeably from other regional Cryptotermes species for its weak and inconspicuous definition of the frontal and genal horns and its acute angle of the frons with respect to the vertex. Cryptotermes colombianus clustered with species from the Ethiopian and Oriental region and it is closely related to Cryptotermes havilandi. Cryptotermes cylindroceps is widely distributed along the Colombian Caribbean coast, commonly associated with dead wood in mangrove habitats. It also is commonly found in wooden furniture, constituting an important household pest. Cryptotermes mangoldi is reported from the Caribbean mainland for the first time.With these new records, there are now five Cryptotermes species for Colombia, including the pest species Cryptotermes brevis and Cryptotermes dudleyi. This new description raises the numbers of Neotropical Cryptotermes to a total of 34 species, of which 2 are fossils, 4 introduced, and 28 endemic.

After more than one hundred years, a new drywood termite of the genus Proneotermes is described from the tropical dry forest in the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Morphological and genetic analyses are given for Proneotermes macondianus sp. n. This termite occurs in tropical dry forests in small colonies inside thin branches of dry wood. The soldier of Proneotermes macondianus is smaller and the genal horns are angled outward compared to the other two described Proneotermes species. The imago wings are unusually short and wide. Genetic analyses for COII, 12S, and 16S genes show less than three percent difference between sample localities of Proneotermes macondianus. Intergeneric comparison with selected kalotermitid genera indicates that Bifiditermes is the most closely related genus of those sequenced. New morphological descriptions and morphometric measurements of Proneotermes latifrons based on the soldier caste are also included. Neotropical locality records for Proneotermes latifrons and Proneotermes perezi are provided.

Rugitermes ursulaesp. nov. is described from a sample collected inside a dead branch in a tropical dry forest of Colombia’s Caribbean coast using molecular information and external morphological characters of the imago and soldier castes. Rugitermes ursulaesp. nov. soldiers and imagoes are the smallest among all described Rugitermes species. The imago’s head capsule coloration is dark castaneous, while the pronotum is contrastingly pale yellow. Our description includes soldier characters, such as subflangular elevation and shape of the antennal sockets, that can help in identification of samples lacking imagoes.