An order of the Insecta, commonly called termites, with the general characteristics and stages of other exopterygote insects. They are closely related to the Blattodea. Indeed, the only wood-eating cockroach, Cryptocercus, has a similar collection of protozoa in its hindgut to that of the primitive termite Zootermopsis. Similarly, the Australian Mastotermes, though socially complex, is considered the most primitive extant termite by reason of its having an anal lobe in the adult wing; this character is found throughout the cockroaches.