Termites Flashcards
What are termites and their group?
- Social insects that build large nests in soil or wood
Order Hymenoptera
Group: Isoptera
What are the 5 main nest types?
– Ground mounds
– Tree nests (outside tree, connected to internal cavity)
– Pole nests (on human structures such as fence posts and telegraph poles)
– Subterranean nests (underground, in soil, stumps and tree bases)
– Tree wood (inside the tree)
What feeding groups are termites?
- Soil-feeders: Termites feeding deliberately on mineral soil.
- Soil/wood interface-feeders: Termites feeding in highly decayed wood or predominantly within soil under logs or on the surface or inside of rotting logs
or mixed with leaf litter in stilt-root complexes. This group is synonymous with “intermediate feeders“. - Litter-foragers: Termites foraging on leaves and small woody items, often taken back and stored temporarily in the nest.
- Grass-feeders: Termites that forage for (usually dead dry) standing grass and other low vegetation stems, usually cutting and removing it to the nest.
- Wood-feeders: Termites feeding on wood and woody litter, including dead branches still attached to trees.
Why are termites important to wildlife? list 4 factors
Grass and spinifex-eating species are
very important in the savannah
ecology of Northern Australia.
they are considered ecosystem engineers- modifying habitats, indirectly shaping biotic communities
- Prominent role in the recycling of plant nutrients
* Disintegration and decomposition of dead wood and plant debris. - Soil nutrients from mound erosion
* Mounds are rich in nutrients such as calcium, magnesium and potassium
3.improve soil structure, and assist water entry and storage in soil
* Regulate soil moisture by transporting water upward
* Reduces water stress of plants, allows for new growth and
mitigates effects of drought
* Surface rainwater runoff and subsequent soil erosion are reduced
by termite galleries.
- Termites obtain water from the wood in which they live and eat
* Drought resistant
What other benefits do termites have to the wildlife other than environmentally?
Food source and nests provide shelter during fires
Winged reproductive termites, alates, emerging on their colonising flight are eaten in large numbers by lizards, snakes, frogs, insectivorous and omnivorous birds.
Rich protein source - facilitates increased body condition of wildlife required for breeding
What animals do termites provide homes for?
Golden-shouldered and hooded parrots
* Nest in termite mounds
* Dig holes in the mound with their beaks when they are damp and soft, during the wet season.
Australian kingfishers
* Use tree based termite mounds
* To create a hole initially, the birds may fly head on at the mound and occasionally die from the
impact!
* Once completed, the burrow may be left vacant for a while to allow the termites to seal off the
tunnel on the inside and protect their nest from dust and drying air.
The fat-tailed antechinus (Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis)
* Drier areas from south-west Queensland to WA
* Lives in bulbous termite mounds
Pilbara dtella (Gehyra pilbara) a species of gecko
* Lives inside bulbous termite mounds from the Pilbara Plateau to the
Tanami Desert.
* At night these geckos move on to the surface of the mounds to forage
but during the day they live in tunnels inside.
how do termites benefit certain pythons, and goannas?
Provide Feeding grounds
* Certain pythons (Liasis spp.) have been found in termite mounds, chasing
and feeding on the geckos there.
* Goannas are also attracted to birds’ nests in termite mounds.
* Tree goannas (Varanus tristis) have been observed eating golden
shouldered parrot nestlings and one was found in a hooded parrots’ nest
with a stomach full of eggs.
how do termites benefit monitor lizards?
Nesting sites
* Female lace monitor lizards (Varanus varius) excavate nesting holes in termite
mounds in trees and on the ground.
* After they have deposited their eggs, they leave the termites to seal up the hole
again, cementing the eggs in.
* The constant temperature maintained by the termites incubates the eggs and it is
thought that the mothers return to the nest at hatching time to help their offspring
escape.
What animals use termites as a food source?
Golden bandicoot (Isoodon auratus) and Bilbies (Macrotis lagotis).
* Found in north-west WA
* One of primary food sources
* The entrances of bilbies tunnels are often found next to a termite
mound.
Frill-necked lizards (Chlamydosaurus kingii)
* Feed largely on termites.
Geckos, legless lizards and skinks also benefit from this abundant food source.
* Estimated that termites may be largely responsible for the great diversity and
abundance of lizards in arid parts of Australia.
A number of blind snakes (Ramphotyphlops spp.) are commonly found under
termite mounds or below termite inhabited wood where they feast on their
favourite food.
What are two examples of Myrmecophages?
Numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus)
* Live in south-west WA
* Depend almost entirely on termites for food.
* Using their strong sense of smell to locate their food, they dig up galleries in
the soil and in dead branches but they are unable to break into mounds.
Echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus)
* Feed on termites as well as on ants.
* They use their strong claws to break into mounds and then lap up the insects
with long tongues, covered with sticky saliva.
* Termites ground down between a horny pad at the back of the tongue and a
hard palate before being swallowed.
What are threats to termites?
termite baiting and extermination
habitat change/loss
fire- loss of food sources, death
