Six-legged miners strike gold
Termites and ants are stockpiling gold in their mounds, new CSIRO research has found.
View ArticleHeadbanging termites send out smoke signals
Communicating over long distances is difficult; for example, the sound of our voices can rarely be heard or understood further away than 100 m. Yet, long before the invention of the telephone or...
View ArticleStudy shows use of feces as building material by termites serves as antibiotic
(Phys.org) —A team of researchers at the University of Florida has found that some termites use their own feces as an ingredient in building materials. Doing so, the group reports in their paper...
View ArticleNew gut bacterium discovered in termite's digestion of wood
When termites munch on wood, the small bits are delivered to feed a community of unique microbes living in their guts, and in a complex process involving multiple steps, these microbes turn the hard,...
View ArticleNew species of fascinating opportunistic shelter using leaf beetles
Many animals construct homes or shelters to escape from biological and physical hostilities. Birds, spiders, termites, ants, bees and wasps are the most famous animal architects. As shelter...
View ArticleHidden ants reveal gold better than top-dwelling termites
Subterranean ants and termites are leading researchers and prospectors alike, to gold and other minerals in the northern Yilgarn district.
View ArticleResearchers sequence genome of primitive termite
North Carolina State University entomologists are part of a research team that has for the first time sequenced the genome of a member of the termite order, the dampwood termite (Zootermopsis...
View ArticleTiny termites can hold back deserts by creating oases of plant life
Termites might not top the list of humanity's favorite insects, but new research suggests that their large dirt mounds are crucial to stopping the spread of deserts into semi-arid ecosystems and...
View ArticleTwo exotic termites find love in Florida, worrying researchers
Two particularly hungry, exotic termite species apparently have found love halfway around the world and, as with so many other Florida hook-ups, the results are disturbing.
View ArticleWhat agriculture can learn from termites and fungi
Other living creatures were involved in agriculture way before humans. Termite species in Africa and Asia have been cultivating fungi for consumption for tens of millions of years. And they do it well...
View ArticleNicotinoid and fungal disease team up to break down termites' tough defenses
Purdue University research shows that a small amount of nicotinoid pesticide substantially weakens termites' ability to fight off fungal diseases, a finding that could lead to more effective methods of...
View ArticleClimate control in termite mounds
When they make their way into homes, some species of termites can be destructive pests. Their fungus-harvesting relatives in Africa and Asia, however, are known for their construction prowess,...
View ArticleBrazilian scarab beetles found to be termitophiles
Termite soldiers are able to chemically detect intruders in their colonies. While most trespassers are swiftly dealt with, some spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and insects are allowed to find shelter...
View ArticleStudy reveals how distinctive termite mounds are ventilated, could offer...
As animal architects go, the average termite doesn't have many tools at their disposal - just their bodies, soil and saliva. And as guidance, variations in wind speed and direction and daily...
View ArticleScientist at work—observing termite behaviors, personalities – and souls?
In Afrikaans, they are called rysmiere, literally "rice ants," although their name is more commonly rendered into English as "white ants." They are not ants, though; they're not even closely related to...
View Article100-mllion-year-old amber preserves oldest animal societies
Fighting ants, giant solider termites, and foraging worker ants recently discovered in 100-million-year-old amber provide direct evidence for advanced social behavior in ancient ants and termites—two...
View ArticleAsexual succession strategy of termites
A study led by the Laboratory Evolutionary Biology and Ecology of the Université libre de Bruxelles shows that the humivorous French Guianan termite Cavitermes tuberosus routinely practice asexual...
View ArticleFinding the first fungus farmers
The development of farming was a key milestone in human history, but as a species we were quite late to the party. Insects got there first! One of the best documented examples happens in the termite...
View ArticleWild chimpanzee mothers teach young to use tools
The first documented evidence of wild chimpanzee mothers teaching their offspring to use tools has been captured by video cameras set to record chimpanzee tool-using activity at termite mounds in the...
View ArticleTermite queens' efficient antioxidant system may enable long life
Termite queens have an efficient antioxidant system which may underpin their ability to live longer than non-reproductive termites, according to a study published January 11, 2017 in the open-access...
View ArticleIn African 'fairy circles,' a template for nature's many patterns
Be it the Mima mounds of Washington state or the famous "fairy circles" of Namibia in southwestern Africa, people are captivated by the regular patterns of plant growth that blanket desert and...
View ArticleHow cathedral termites got to Australia to build their 'sky-scrapers'
They build among the tallest non-human structures (proportionately speaking) in the world and now it's been discovered the termites that live in Australia's remote Top End originated from overseas -...
View ArticleAnts stomp, termites tiptoe—predator detection by a cryptic prey
Termites and ants are mortal enemies and will fight to the death if necessary. Yet armies of sightless termites carry out their work within millimetres of ant nests thanks to an incredible talent that...
View ArticleNeighboring termite colonies re-invade, expose themselves to deadly bait
Even after an insecticide bait weakens Formosan subterranean termites, a neighboring colony will invade the same area and meet the identical lethal fate, new University of Florida Institute of Food and...
View Article99-million-year-old termite-loving thieves caught in Burmese amber
Eusocial insects, such as ants, social wasps and bees, and termites, include some of the most ecologically ubiquitous of terrestrial animals. The nests of these insects are well protected and provide a...
View ArticleNewly developed insecticide and fungus combination could more effectively...
A new Purdue University-developed technology concept could provide pest control companies with a more effective way to control termites and prevent associated damage. The technology works by targeting...
View ArticleStudy shows 'pretty' termites do the most damage
Termites may be "pretty" in the eyes of a scientist, but don't let good looks fool you: The prettier termites are more destructive than their uglier counterparts, a University of Florida researcher says.
View ArticleHow chimp DNA techniques turned us into jungle detectives
Finding wild chimpanzees is not easy. In the first ten years we spent scouring the remote woodlands of western Tanzania in search of them, we caught only fleeting glimpses and brief views of their...
View ArticleHow solitary cockroaches gave rise to social termites—tales from two genomes
Termites are "social cockroaches." They evolved from ancestral solitary cockroaches some 150 million years ago, at least 50 million years before bees, ants and wasps evolved similar intricate societies...
View ArticleTermites' unique gut 'factory' key to global domination
Termites have achieved ecological dominance and now some of the ingredients for their success have been determined to lie in their unique gut microbiome 'factories' - which enable the creatures to eat...
View Article
