Potential of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) for identifying termite species

•Termite species have different molecular compositions.•Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) method allows the discrimination of termite species.•Other soil invertebrates could be identified using NIRS method.

This article discusses the potential of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIRS) for identifying termite species based on their specific molecular signatures. We compared the NIRS signatures of termite workers and soldiers from five species: Hodotermopsis sjoestedti, Nasutitermes lujae, Nasutitermes voeltzkowi, Microcerotermes parvus and Reticulitermes virginicus. The termite species were clearly differentiated along the first three axes of a principle component analysis. This study therefore shows the potential of the method to differentiate termite species and could constitute a cost effective and faster technology than approaches based on microsatellite and mitochondrial data. This research is a first step and further studies on a larger number of termite species and colonies sampled in situ, as well as other, difficult to identify macroinvertebrate groups will be of interest.