BBC Home Making: Termites

Termites build one of the most sophisticated homes in all animals and insects. Jeez, they have a better cooling system than i do or at least a more environment friendly one. hehe. Extra info on Termites : As eusocial insects, termites live in colonies that, at maturity, number from several hundred to several million individuals. They are a prime example of decentralised, self-organised systems using swarm intelligence and use this cooperation to exploit food sources and environments that could not be available to any single insect acting alone. A typical colony contains nymphs (semi-mature young), workers, soldiers, and reproductive individuals of both genders, sometimes containing several egg-laying queens. Termites has one of the most complex of house making techniques. It is called a Mound. In tropical savannas the mounds may be very large, with an extreme of 9 metres (30 ft) high in the case of large conical mounds constructed by some Macrotermes species in well-wooded areas in Africa.
The sculptured mounds sometimes have elaborate and distinctive forms, such as those of the compass termite (Amitermes meridionalis & A. laurensis) which build tall wedge-shaped mounds with the long axis oriented approximately north-south. This orientation has been experimentally shown to help in thermoregulation. The column of hot air rising in the above ground mounds helps drive air circulation currents inside the subterranean network. The structure of these mounds can be quite complex. The temperature control is essential for those species that cultivate fungal gardens and even for those that don't, much effort and energy is spent maintaining the brood within a narrow temperature range, often only plus or minus one degree C over a day.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• BBC
• nature
• david
• attenborough
• behavior
• animal
• history
• natural
• termite
• insect
• home
• making
• cooling
• ventilation
• social
• intelligence
• colony
• house
• mound
• hill
• magnetic
• thermoregulation

[normalil]

This is the most fascinating thing he ever showed us. I have never forgotten it from when it was first on TV. Great to find it here. Thanks.

[unireality]

@normalil ur welcome....

[ksNanoSquid]

ENGINEERS build their TELEPORTERS according to a master plan

[capeman6666]

ze spy was here!

[Galv140577]

decentralized power structure nobody tells anybody what to do they just get on with it why cant we be like that? instead we have banksters taking all our resources & using them to wage wars so we kill each other while they just get richer & richer & all we get is worthless pieces of paper called bank notes that become more & more worthless every f**king day

[itsanillusion100]

Check out Eugene Marais' book "The soul of the white ant"

[VoonlapseMertigo]

@DonnZ0r

Stigmergy. Look it up, absolutely fascinating.

[Quaid1947]

who told engineering to this blind insect?

[behnamasid]

The termite queen is a slut. lol

[djsufferthing]

@AntiKythera108 I lol'd.

[AntiKythera108]

And here we see the Nigerian termite exhibit architecture of a much more sophisticated level than indigenous sub-Saharan Africans have ever constructed.

[monsieurgazerina]

@bardocksupersaiyan3 it reminds me of jabba the hutt

[Godshelper707]

Absolutely amazing

[ninelivecat]

@bardocksupersaiyan3 Prob inspired the Queen Alien in Aliens