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Specialized habitats

live in the soil or in arboreal nests made from

a lightweight substance called “carton.”

Termite colonies have been called the world’s

oldest societies, with the earliest fossil termites

known from the beginning of the Cretaceous

period. Evidence suggests that the group is

even older; one piece of evidence for the early

appearance of termites is a Late Jurassic fossil

mammal Fruitafossor windscheffeli, described

in 2005 in North America, which has been

interpreted as a specialist termite predator from

its tubular teeth and digging limbs, resembling

modern termite eaters.

Termites were for a long time placed in their

own order of insects, Isoptera, but recent research

combining DNA, fossil, and morphological

evidence has shown that they are eusocial relatives

of cockroaches (Blattodea). Despite similarities

in nest and social structure, they are not closely

related to ants. However, like ants they are divided

into castes, with the majority of the colony being

nonreproductive workers, which maintain the

structure of the colony and collect food, or

soldiers, which defend it, using large jaws or

chemical defenses. The similarity has led to

termites being called “white ants” in many parts

of the world.

Also like ants, the colonies of termites provide

abundant opportunities for nest invaders

(called inquilines) to occupy their living

space, taking advantage of the constant

temperature and humidity, protection

from predators, or the reliable supply of

food (whether the food of the termites or

the termites themselves). Many beetles

TERMITE NESTS AND COLONIES

Tall edifices, seemingly built of stone, are

characteristic features of the dry grasslands of

the African savanna, the Brazilian Cerrado, and

the Australian outback. These are the colonies of

termites, each one built and maintained over

decades or centuries, and home to thousands or

even millions of termite workers. The structures

cover extensive subterranean networks of

chambers and tunnels. The mounds are built

from soil cemented with the saliva and dung of

the termites, and are surprisingly strong and

weatherproof, although they need regular

maintenance by the workers.

Termites are social insects, living in colonies

controlled by a reproductive pair, called the

“queen” and the “king.” The white, sausage-like

queens grow huge and are some of the longest

lived of insects, typically exceeding ten years and

reported at up to fifty. When the queen dies, the

supply of a hormone she produces inhibiting

reproductive development in the colony stops,

and another queen arises and produces the same

hormone to inhibit the rest of the colony. Not all

termite genera inhabit giant fortified nests; many

left | Termitotrox cupido (Scarabaeidae) This

blind, flightless scarab beetle was discovered

in 2012 in termite nests in Cambodia and

named after a Roman god of love.