Termites

Termites are pretty small, but they live together in huge colonies – sometimes a few million animals. As a result, they can sometimes create meter-high structures.

Characteristics

What do appointments look like?

Termites are insects related to cockroaches and mantises. Their body consists of a head, chest, and abdomen, and they have three pairs of legs. At first glance, they almost look like ants. If you take a closer look at termites, you can see the characteristics in which they differ from ants: their abdomen has no constriction.

In ants, on the other hand, the abdomen is constricted, so that there is a nodule between the chest and abdomen. In addition, ants are dark in color, while termites are white, light yellowish, or light brown. The reproductive termites, the so-called sex animals, are five to 15 millimeters long, depending on the species, the workers two to twelve millimeters and the soldiers three to 20 millimeters.

The biting mouthparts and two antennae that look like a string with strings of pearls are located on the head. Sex animals have wings, which they shed after the nuptial flight, workers and soldiers are wingless. In addition, only the sexual animals have eyes, the other termites are blind.

Like all insects, termites have a chitinous shell. While this protective shield is hard in most insects, it is rather soft in termites. This is an adaptation to their life in the large termite burrows: the animals do not need such a hard shell there because they are protected in the burrow.

Where do termites live?

Termites are at home in the tropics and subtropics of America, Africa, and Asia. However, some species are also found in the temperate climate zones of Europe and North America. Termites are mainly found in rainforests, but also in savannas. Their typical mounds, which can be several meters high, can often be seen there.

Depending on the species, the structures of termites differ: Some species build termite mounds above ground made of soil mixed with saliva, some underground nests in soil or tree trunks, and some build so-called cardboard nests on trees. The most conspicuous and well-known are domed, pyramidal, or columnar termite mounds. The largest can be found in Africa: They grow up to seven meters high and have a diameter of up to 28 meters.

Termite mounds are rock hard and riddled with passages and cells. In some cells the larvae are raised, others serve as food stores. Termite structures have a sophisticated ventilation system: Thanks to many ventilation shafts, the temperature and humidity are always the same and there is enough fresh air. Sometimes several termite mounds are connected by underground passages – so a termite colony can consist of many termite mounds.

What types of termites are there?

About 2000 different species of termites are known, divided into seven families and 200 genera. They differ in the size and color of their bodies, as well as in the shape of their burrows. What they all have in common is that they live in huge insect states.

Behavior

How do termites live?

Termites never live alone but are very sociable creatures that form huge colonies with up to several million animals. These states have a sophisticated social structure: in addition to one or more reproductive couples, they consist of different “castes”, namely the workers and soldiers.

The workers are sexually underdeveloped females and males. The workers are specialized in different tasks: There are brood carers, nest builders, and animals that are only there to bring food.

The soldiers are tasked with guarding the termite mound. They have a particularly large, square head and very powerful jaws, which they can use to fend off attackers such as ants. These jaws are so strong that they can severely pinch even a human’s finger.

In some species, soldiers have appendages with glands on their heads from which they squirt a sticky liquid at attackers, preventing them from moving. Because termites feed on dead wood and can shred anything with their powerful mouthparts, they can destroy wooden structures such as houses and bridges. But there are only a few species that cause such damage.

Friends and foes of termites

Because termites are high in protein and fat, they’re a coveted treat for animals ranging from ants to the hyena-like aardwolf. Chimpanzees also love termites and fish them out of their burrow with long sticks. One of the biggest enemies of South American termites is the anteater: With its mighty claws, it rips open the rock-hard termite burrows.