Fascinating Insights into the Social Life of Termites
Termites, often referred to as white ants, are fascinating insects that play crucial roles in ecosystems. They are adept decomposers, benefiting agriculture by enriching soil. Termites live in large colonies led by a long-living queen, with distinct roles for different members such as workers and soldiers. The intricate social structure and behaviors of termites offer insights into their evolutionary adaptations and ecological impact.
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Presentation Transcript
The termites are commonly known as white ants . They belong to class insecta ,order isoptera and are widely distributed in tropical ,subtropical and temperate regions of the world . These are small , hemimetabolous ,soft bodied cellulose eating , nocturnal ,social and polymorphic insects having two pairs of similar wings . These are usually light coloured and are different from ants .Ants are hard bodied and dark coloured , with a constriction between thorax and abdomen .
Ecologically , termites are good decomposers of dead wood and vegetable products and aid in agriculture by enriching the soil with their fecal matter and by making the soil permeable to air and moisture , like earthworms . These are very significant pests damaging wooden structures . They live together in very large colonies or communities . There are more than 1700 species of termites and a few hundreds to as many as 70 lakhs individuals of same species form a colony .
The colonies are matriarch .A colonys population is initiated and maintained by a queen that may live for as many as 50 years in some species . All members of a colony are the offspring of a single female and hence all have similar genotype . The colony reaches its maximum size in approximately 4 to 5 years .
Members of termite 1. Termite Queen Queen is an egg laying machine , laying eggs at the rate of one egg per second , 24 hours a day and for about 20 years of life . Some Australian species lay up to 60000 eggs per day. Producing eggs is the only mission in the life of a termite queen .
2.Worker termites Worker termites have to take care of all its daily works . Workers and soldiers in the colony are highly devoted to the colony .
3. Soldiers insect Soldiers insects have long degger like Mandibles .These are used for defend their nest from invaders . Workers chew the wood to feed the queen and larvae.
4. Nasute soldiers They are specialised soldiers in chemical warfare . They produced a jet of highly corrosive chemical from their bodies that can dissolve the skin of enemies and can also help in making galleries through the rocks .
