termite

Termite mounds in Kakadu, Northern Territory, Australia. The Amitermes meridionalis termite of northern Australia builds wedge-shaped mounds, called compass or magnetic mounds. The long axis of the mound is always aligned north–south, while the broad side faces east–west (the orientation probably serves to regulate the temperature of the mound). Termites of some species can live for 60–70 years.

Any member of the insect order Isoptera. Termites are soft-bodied social insects living in large colonies which include one or more queens (of relatively enormous size and producing an egg every two seconds), much smaller kings, and still smaller soldiers, workers, and immature forms. Termites build galleried nests of soil particles that may be 6 m/20 ft high.

Termites may dispose of a quarter of the vegetation litter of an area, and their fondness for wood (as in houses and other buildings) brings them into conflict with humans. The wood is broken down in their stomachs by numerous micro-organisms living in symbiosis with their hosts. Some species construct adjustable air vents in their nests, and one species moistens the inside of the nest with water to keep it cool. One group of African termites, the Macrotermitinae, constructs fungus gardens, within the nest, by infecting its own faeces with a special fungus that digests the faeces and renders them edible. Fossilized termite nests found in Arizona, USA, have been estimated to be about 220 million years old.

Termites in the rainforest mostly excavate huge underground nests and feed on rotting vegetation. In one UK study in Cameroon (1993–98) soil-dwelling termites, many of which were discovered to be new species, were found to have a greater biomass than any other animal group.