Hiking Suikerboschfontein - Part 18 - little builders with acidic breath
Its uncommon to see whats next, because its only usually happens after good rains.
The termites repair or expand their mound, during this process the new extension is wet and very fragile.
As seen below the slight contact with a careless hikers boot is enough to damage it, but once it hardens one would need a hammer or other suitable implement to break into the mound.
One can also see how the mound has been expanded in stages as the colony grows and its space requirements along with it.
My closer shots of the builders and their guards was a little fuzzy so here is a shot of some similar beasties from the net.
In this species the guards have pointed snouts that spray out a fine chemical mist to irritate the eyes and nostrils of anything that interferes with the colony.
A nice little post, imagine if the termites were to take the world over? I often thought about that one since I was 6 or so, after seeing a thriller about ants taking over the world. The air system inside the mounds are outstanding pieces of architecture.
Thanks for sharing and namaste :)
I can't say I have been there
Great post. I just had the exterminator out to get rid of these little f----ers! ☆☆☆☆☆😎
good work...
No way, this is nuts!
chemical warfare at the insect level