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Mastotermes is a genus of termites .. genus. genus. The sole living species is Mastotermes darwiniensis , found only in northern Australia .. Mastotermes darwiniensis. Mastotermes darwiniensis. Australia. Australia. A number of extinct taxa are known from fossils .. extinct. extinct. taxa. taxa. It is a very peculiar insect , the most primitive termite alive .. termite. termite. As such , it shows notable similarities to certain cockroaches , the termites ' closest relatives .. These similarities include the anal lobe of the wing and the laying of eggs in bunches , rather than singly .. The termites were traditionally placed in the Exopterygota , but such an indiscriminate treatment makes that group a paraphyletic grade of basal neopterans .. Exopterygota. Exopterygota. paraphyletic. paraphyletic. basal. basal ( evolution ). Thus , the cockroaches , termites and their relatives are nowadays placed in a clade called Dictyoptera .. clade. clade. Dictyoptera. Dictyoptera. These singular termites appear at first glance like a cockroaches abdomen with a termite 's head and thorax .. termite. termite. abdomen. abdomen#Invertebrates. thorax. Thorax ( insect anatomy ). Their wings have the same design as those of the cockroaches , and its eggs are laid in a case as are cockroach eggs .. cockroach. cockroach. It is thought to have evolved from the same ancestors as the wood roaches -LRB- Cryptocercus -RRB- in the Permian .. Cryptocercus. Cryptocercus. Permian. Permian. Fossil wings have been discovered in the Permian of Kansas which have a close resemblance to wings of Mastotermes of the Mastotermitidae , which is the most primitive living termite .. termite. termite. Permian. Permian. This fossil species is Pycnoblattina .. Pycnoblattina. Pycnoblattina. It folded its wings in a convex pattern between segments 1a and 2a .. Mastotermes darwiniensis is the only living insect that does the same .. Mastotermes darwiniensis. Mastotermes darwiniensis. However , Pycnoblattina has been demonstrated to be unrelated to termites and the earliest termites are from the latest Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous .. Pycnoblattina. Pycnoblattina. Unlike cockroaches , not all termites have wings  : Only the reproductives , -LRB- see Termites-life cycle -RRB- whose wings are considerably longer than their abdomen .. abdomen. abdomen#Invertebrates. Mastotermes darwiniensis is usually not very numerous , nor are the colonies large when left to natural conditions .. Mastotermes darwiniensis. Mastotermes darwiniensis. However , when given abundant water -LRB- such as regular irrigation -RRB- and favourable food & soil conditions -LRB- such as stored timber or timber structures -RRB- , populations can be enormous , numbering in the millions , quickly destroying their host .. Its diet is varied , as it will eat introduced plants , damage ivory and leather , and wood and debris , in fact almost anything organic .. It becomes a major agricultural pest , to the extent that vegetable farming has been virtually abandoned in Northern Australia wherever this termite is numerous , which it is outside of the rain forest or bauxite soils .. termite. termite. Australia. Australia. It has developed the ability to bore up into a living tree and ring bark it such that it dies and becomes the center of a colony .. Mastotermes darwiniensis is the only known host of the symbiotic protozoan Mixotricha paradoxa , remarkable for its multiple bacterial symbionts .. Mastotermes darwiniensis. Mastotermes darwiniensis. Mixotricha paradoxa. Mixotricha paradoxa