Termites are chaotic creatures that cost people a fortune annually, but they are also one of the greatest architects in the insect world. When termite is mentioned, I can imagine what comes to your mind when termite is mentioned; the destructive insect that costs you lots of money in furniture repairs and other home repairs but do you know that there are over 3000 species of termite.
Similar to Bees, Ants, and Wasps, they have a colony and caste system but they are even closer to cockroaches as they evolved from wood-eating cockroaches (Cryptocercus). As they evolved, they formed colonies and a caste system. They are considered white ants by analogy due to their evolutionary convergence with social ants.
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Termite possesses bi-parental care, and they rely on protists to help with digestion. Scientists believe that the cockroaches that were living in the woods were able to experience changes as a result of them eating more than they needed which was a result of them living in the woods themselves.
When termites chew wood, they are looking to get cellulose or fiber which is the compound that makes up plant cells. While humans cannot digest it, termites can thanks to the special microbes in their gut. Termites have organized roles which includes soldiers, workers, and breaders. Each of these caste look and acts different, with workers building and maintaining the nest where the entire colony lives, they forage for food that the entire colony would eat, and feed the young ones. Soldiers have massive mandibles and chemical spraying heads and they use it to protect the colony, and attack invaders.
The king and queen are the heads of the colony and the queens are big, and they are always reproducing but while they do this, they can become meals for the newborns they birth. Since termites are not open to enough nitrogen due to their mode of feeding, carnibalism is an option after life for any termite as that is a way to recycle nitrogen. Either you are a queen, or a king, or any other member of the caste, once you are injured, other termites will carnibalize on you for nitrogen recycling.
Termites also have other characteristics like the ones with defense strategies where they explode when been attacked. The older termite burst when there is an attack, releasing a sticky glue chemical that put the attacker in one place. Termite’s way living help them to play a major role in how carbon is moved in the ecosystem.
Reference
https://www.jstor.org/tc/accept?origin=%2Fstable%2Fpdf%2F2808287.pdf&is_image=False
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214574524000257
https://www.terminix.com/termites/what-do-termites-eat
https://www.chemfreepestandlawn.com/blog/how-do-termites-eat-wood
https://www.americanpoleandtimber.com/why-do-termites-eat-wood/
https://www.npr.org/2011/05/06/136028437/a-termite-queen-and-her-ultimate-sacrifice