Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Biology-Insects-Termites-Macrotermes bellicosus

Termites are sometimes referred to as "termites", but they are not ants and have nothing to do with them. They are the most abundant in tropical and subtropical countries, and in some cases their nests produce large, prominent mounds. All termites form dense colonies, with an egg-laying queen and hundreds or thousands of workers. Workers are nymphs whose development in reproductive adults is inhibited. Most of them perform tasks in the nest, feeding the queen and young people, building nests and collecting food, but some workers develop into "soldiers." Big head and long scorpion. Their job is to protect the nest from intruders.

At some point during the year, some workers completed their development and became adults with wings, both male and female. These nests remain in the nest and land on the ground, shed wings and mate. Then the female lays eggs in the soil, so a new colony begins. Macrotermes bellicosus is an African termite that can build spectacular mounds. Workers built mounds by combining sand and clay with saliva. Right on the ground, there is a central nest. There is a network of tunnels, many of which are connected to the underpass to form a good source of food. In the nest, the Queen does nothing except produce eggs. Her abdomen swollen so much that she couldn't move, the workers fed her and took the eggs away as quickly as possible.

Termites feed only on plant material, mainly cellulose in woody tissues. Some termites can digest cellulose, sometimes by means of a single-cell biota in the gut, but Macrotermes takes the plant material back into the nest and chews it. In this bed of chewed pulp and termite feces, the fungus grows. Macrotermes feed on fungi or wood pulp, which has been partially digested by fungi.

If termites are drilled into the wood structure to obtain cellulose, damage can result.




Orignal From: Biology-Insects-Termites-Macrotermes bellicosus

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