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Mound-building termites are a group of termite species that live in mounds which are made of a combination of soil, termite saliva and dung. These termites live in Africa, Australia and South America. The mounds sometimes have a diameter of 30 metres (98 ft). Most of the mounds are in well-drained areas.
Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial insects which consume a variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus.They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied and often unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed "white ants"; however, they are not ants, being more closely related to ...
The termites we have in the United States do not bite, sting or harm you. “They're really gentle. I mean, they eat your house, which is terrible, but you hold them safely, they can't hurt you ...
Subterranean termites live in colonies underground, with no mounds or above-ground structures to indicate that they are present. Sugarcane can be severely attacked causing 90 to 100% damage, fruit orchards 80 to 90% damage, maize 45% damage and wheat 10 to 12% damage. [ 6 ]
Despite the popular reputation of termites for breaking down and digesting wood, most termite species do not possess the capability to digest the cellulose in wood. Macrotermitinae instead use their mounds to cultivate fungus in a symbiotic relationship, similar to leaf-cutter ants (fungus-cultivating ants). Worker termites find plant debris ...
When it enters buildings, which it can do through a minute crack in concrete, it prefers to feed on wood that grew in spring rather than summer growth, which has a higher lignin content; the attacked timbers have a honeycomb-like appearance with soil in the galleries. [1] The termites can create free-standing tubes descending from the ceiling. [1]
[20] [21] The soil chemistry of the heuweltjies is different from the surrounding soil, with mineral enrichments that align with those associated with other termite formations. [17] The even spacing of the mounds is explained by proponents of the zoogenic hypothesis as being a result of competition between colonies for space and vegetation. [14]
Termites and some wasps construct burrows in the soil and wood. Ants construct burrows in the soil. Some sea urchins and clams can burrow into rock. The burrows produced by invertebrate animals can be filled actively or passively.