Termites

All mature forests have dead and decaying wood, leaves, flowers, and fruit which needs to be broken down. Insects like termites, help with this process.

They love eating wood but only in the dark! They even make mud tunnels to get to their food source, unseen.

Termites, commonly known as ‘white ants’ despite being from a completely different insect group, are insects that build large nests in soil or wood. They range in colour from pale brown to white, and possess antennae with bead-like segments. Worker termites possess thin skins, making them susceptible to drying out but the other castes have more durable casings. Termites are detritivores, consuming dead and decaying plant material at any stage of decomposition. Not all termites eat wood, however, many only feed on grass and other plant matter.

Termites maintain their nests at a high humidity so that the workers don’t dry out. The workers cannot even venture out of the nest for food unless the outside humidity is close to 100%. Termite nests can typically be of 3 different categories: Hypogeal – subterranean (completely underground), Epigeal – protruding above the ground surface, and Arboreal – built above ground in branches etc but still connected to the ground via shelter tubes.

Nests are usually maintained at temperatures between 25°C – 36°C, depending on the species. Some termites such as the magnetic or compass termites in the Northern Territory build their nests running east – west and shape them to be thinner along the north – south axis, protecting them from the harsh sun in summer.

Nests are considered Mounds if they protrude from the earth’s surface, like an Epigeal nest but stronger. Mounds are built in areas of torrential or continuous rainfall as mound walls are more resistant to erosion. Termites use a variety of resources such as faeces, providing excellent properties as construction materials, other partly digested plant materials, and soil. Termite colony capacity range in size from a few hundred termites to several million!

They play an important role in ecosystems by recycling waste materials such as dead wood, faeces, and plants. Many species are considered ecosystem engineers that can alter soil characteristics such as hydrology (movement of water above and below the surface), decomposition, nutrient recycling, and vegetative growth.