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All you can eat cafe for termites in an old building in Sofala. Not too long till the roof comes down.
It has rained heavily several times today for the first time in months and termites are flying. They do settle but continue to beat their oversized temporary wings. There will be bats tonight. Image with a fill flash to stop the wings.
Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera (see taxonomy below), but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea. While termites are commonly known, especially in Australia, as "white ants," they are only distantly related to the ants.
It all began when two termites fell in love.
Were it not for the terraforming termites, the Okavango Delta of Botswana would be a barren flat floodplain in the Kalahari desert, much like the Black Rock Desert.
The termite mounds tower up above the seasonal floodplain, up to 30 ft. tall in some cases, and provide a base for bushes and trees that need to be above water to germinate. And that supports the larger animals, like the Fisher Eagle seen here.
The landscape is literally transformed by termites.
After a mature colony dies, the inner chambers provide birthing dens for jackal, hyena and wild dog that dig out caves to raise their pups.
As with the other social insects, the termite behavior at the colony level is just fascinating. They farm a fungus underground, and their crop needs a constant temperature of 87 degrees. While outside temperatures can fluctuate between 35 degrees during the night and 104 degrees during the day, the thermoregulation of the mound keeps the temperature in a 2-degree band. Hot air rises in the vertical column drawing cooler air in from below, regulated by continual termite tending to air vent opening and closing. Wind also induces airflow rhythms similar to the breaths of a cow. No single termite has enough neurons to build or manage such a complex system.
It reminded me of a SFI talk on another social insect:
“Bee hives must stay at 96 degrees for the bees to reach maturity. Bees can cool with their wings or huddle together for warmth. Genetically homogenous bees all move together, and the temperature fluctuates widely. Genetically diverse bees keep the hive at a constant temperature.”
The program does not reside in the individual.
This is what I woke up to this morning. A whole swarm of these had invaded my kitchen. Pretty sure they're termites. Both sets of wings are the same size; the antennae are straight; and they have a broad waist (not constricted like you would find on ants). Not happy about this at all.
There's really only three ubiquitous looks to the Kimberley landscape, I've decided: Boabs, Pandanus palms and Termite mounds. I like this one particularly as an adendum to another one I took near Exmouth
Termites i found under some bark. You can see nymphs of various stages, workers, and soldiers here. Eggs too (not in this image).
Up Close with Nature: orionmystery.blogspot.com/
Yesterday was a rainy, windy day in December, not fit for photographers or their cameras to be outdoors. So, I stayed home with my macro lens, shooting this conch shell we'd found on the beach. My wife, who is actually good at identifying shells and ocean life, looked at all the holes worn by salt water in constant motion, and jokingly dubbed them "termite holes."
So, today I share with you seven macros of our "termite conch."
Flying termites, ngumbi in Chichewa & inshwa in Shona, which are the mating caste that swarm at this time of the year.
Flying termites, ngumbi in Chichewa & inshwa in Shona, which are the mating caste that swarm at this time of the year.
I have driven past this spot so many times and never photographed them. I'll have to remember not to use the polarizing filter for panorama shots.
Flying termites, ngumbi in Chichewa & inshwa in Shona, which are the mating caste that swarm at this time of the year.
Day Three ... after lunch we went to the nearby Minneriya National Park.
From Wikipedia -
Minneriya National Park is a national park in North Central Province of Sri Lanka. The area was designated as a national park in 1997, having been originally declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1938.
The reason for declaring the area as protected is to protect the catchment of Minneriya tank and the wildlife of the surrounding area. The tank is of historical importance, having been built by King Mahasen in third century AD. The park is a dry season feeding ground for the elephant population dwelling in forests of Matale, Polonnaruwa, and Trincomalee districts.
The park's fauna includes 24 species of mammals, 160 species of birds, 9 species of amphibians, 25 species of reptiles, 26 species of fish, and 75 species of butterflies.
The park is an important habitat for the two endemic monkeys of Sri Lanka: purple-faced langur and toque macaque. Large herbivorous mammals such as Sri Lankan sambar deer and Sri Lankan axis deer frequent the park. Rare and endangered species such as Sri Lankan leopard and Sri Lankan sloth bear inhabit in Minneriya. Minneriya is one of the areas where the gray slender loris is reportedly found in Sri Lanka.
The Minneriya reservoir is an important habitat for large water birds such as lesser adjutant, painted stork, and spot-billed pelican. Minneriya is a dormitory for many resident as well as migrant bird species. Flocks of 2000 little cormorants have been reported. Great white pelican, ruddy turnstone, and grey heron are the other water birds here. Among the endemic birds are Sri Lanka junglefowl, Sri Lanka hanging parrot, brown-capped babbler, Sri Lanka grey hornbill, black-crested bulbul and crimson-fronted barbet. The number of threatened birds recorded from this national park is 11.
Amphibians of Fejervarya pulla and Polypedates cruciger have been recorded from the area. There are eight species of endemic reptiles, and all of them are considered threatened. Painted-lip lizard and Lankascincus fallax are among them. Saltwater crocodile, Indian python, Asian water monitor, and Bengal monitor are among the other reptiles. Four of the fresh water fishes recorded from Minneriya are endemic to Sri Lanka.
Flying termites, ngumbi in Chichewa & inshwa in Shona, which are the mating caste that swarm at this time of the year.
The termites seem to be chewing off the bottom of the mailbox post. The newspaper tube under the mailbox is only about 10 inches from the ground. The mail delivery person has to bend over to put letters in the box. The newspaper boy has to bend over even further :)
22 May 2017
Indiana
Termite mounds are all over northern Queensland, but I liked this one due to it having absorbed the road marker.