Parasitism is one of the most successful and ancient strategies. Due to the specialized lifestyle of parasites, they are usually affected by reductions and changes in their body plan in comparison with nonparasitic sister groups. Extreme environmental conditions may impose restraints on behavioural or physiological adaptations to a specific host and limit morphological changes associated with speciation. Such morphological homogeneity has led to the diversity of parasites being underestimated in morphological studies. By contrast, the species concept has dramatically changed in many parasitic groups during recent decades of study using DNA sequence data. Here we tested the phenomenon of cryptic species diversity in the twisted‐wing parasite family Xenidae (Strepsiptera) using nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequence data for a broad sample of Xenidae. We used three quantitative methods of species delimitation from the molecular phylogenetic data – one distance‐based (ABGD) and two tree‐based (GMYC, bPTP). We found 77–96 putative species in our data and suggested the number of Xenidae species to be more diverse than expected. We identified 67 hosts to species level and almost half of them were not previously known as hosts of Xenidae. The mean number of host species per putative species varied between 1.39 and 1.55. The constant rate in net diversification can be explained by the flexibility of this parasitic group, represented by their ability to colonize new host lineages combined with passive long‐range dispersal by hosts.

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All termites have established a wide range of associations with symbiotic microbes in their guts. Some termite species are also associated with microbes that grow in their nests, but the prevalence of these associations remains largely unknown. Here, we studied the bacterial communities associated with the termites and galleries of three wood-feeding termite species using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We found that the composition of bacterial communities differs among termite bodies, termite galleries, and control wood fragments devoid of termite activities, in a species-specific manner. Termite galleries were enriched in bacterial OTUs belonging to Rhizobiales and Actinobacteria, which were often shared by several termite species. The abundance of several bacterial OTUs, such as Bacillus, Clostridium, Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus, was reduced in termite galleries. Our results demonstrate that both termite guts and termite galleries harbour unique bacterial communities. Importance As it is the case for all ecosystem engineers, termites impact their habitat by their activities, potentially affecting bacterial communities. Here, we studied three wood-feeding termite species and found that they influence the composition of the bacterial communities in their surrounding environment. Termite activities have positive effects on Rhizobiales and Actinobacteria abundance, and negative effects on the abundance of several ubiquitous genera, such as Bacillus, Clostridium, Corynebacterium and Staphylococcus. Our results demonstrate that termite galleries harbour unique bacterial communities.

All termites have established a wide range of associations with symbiotic microbes in their guts. Some termite species are also associated with microbes that grow in their nests, but the prevalence of these associations remains largely unknown. Here, we studied the bacterial communities associated with the termites and galleries of three wood-feeding termite species using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. We found that the composition of bacterial communities differs among termite bodies, termite galleries, and control wood fragments devoid of termite activities, in a species-specific manner. Termite galleries were enriched in bacterial OTUs belonging to Rhizobiales and Actinobacteria, which were often shared by several termite species. The abundance of several bacterial OTUs, generally belonging to genera known to include animal pathogens, was depleted in termite galleries. Our results demonstrate that termites not only harbour unique bacterial communities inside their guts, but also shape the communities colonizing their nests and galleries.

Termites can feed on wood thanks to their association with their gut microbes. However, the current understanding of termites as holobiont is limited.