Termites of the monastery of saint catherine (Sinai, Egypt)

The Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Catherine is the oldest continuously inhabited Christian Monastery, and is included in a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its cultural importance. In 2001, termite-related damage was observed in some of the Monastery buildings and in a church in the nearby village of Saint Catherine. The identification of the termite species found in the area of the Monastery was a priority for planning pest control activities. Morphological analysis revealed the presence of two species of higher termite (Termitidae): Microcerotermes eugnathus Silvestri and Amitermes vilis (Hagen), the latter new to Egypt. Because genetic data on Microcerotermes and Amitermes species from this area are lacking, we also sequenced mitochondrial DNA genes (COII and 16S) of these species and of two additional species, Microcerotermes palestinensis Spaeth and Amitermes desertorum (Desneux), occurring in nearby areas. The systematics of Microcerotermes species in Africa and the Levant is still confused, some synonymies are suspected, and recent revisions are lacking. As for M. eugnathus, no diagnostic differences with the more recently described M. palestinensis are known, and we suspect that M. palestinensis might be a junior synonym of M. eugnathus. In the Monastery, termite-related damage was mainly limited to structural wood and scarce objects of historical value. Termite monitoring and control would be necessary to prevent serious damage to objects of important historical value, especially in consideration of the recent increase in rainfall in the area of the Monastery, which could favour termite abundance and activity.