Six colonies (three each from laboratory and field) of Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, were served for investigating the abundance and distribution of three symbiotic protozoa in the hindgut of workers. The total protozoan number amounted to 6,000-10,000 per a worker, and the order of the abundance of the three protozoa and the proportional distribution of each species in the hindgut were common among the colonies. Pseudotrichonympha grassii Koidzumi was the smallest in number (800-2,200 per a worker) and was preferentially distributed in the anterior part of the hindgut. Holomastigotoides hartmanni Koidzumi was medial in number (1,200-3,000), and the distribution was relatively uniform all through the hindgut. Spirotrichonympha leidyi Koidzumi was the most abundant in number (2,800-5,000) and was found mainly in the posterior part. These results appeared to support that the prominent localization of each protozoan species in the worker´s hindgut could be related to the nutritional metabolism in Coptotermes formosanus.

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