Hodotermitidae

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The harvester termite (from Greek ???? (hodÃÆ'³s), traveling; Latin termes , wormwood) is an ancient, old World family of termites, Hodotermitidae . They are distinguished by the jagged inner tip of their mandible, and their functional compound eyes are present in all caste. They look for grass at night and during the day, and piggy bank workers are often observed outside the nest. Their reach includes Africa's deserts and savannas, the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Their English name refers to their habits of gathering grass, which is not unique to the family.

Video Hodotermitidae

Genera

The family consists of three remaining genera and about 18 to 19 species. Anacanthotermes is found in the deserts and semideserts of North Africa, the Middle East and Southwest Asia, including Baluchistan and southern India. Hodotermes has a very wide range of North African Palaearctic, through the savannas of East Africa to the karroid region of southern Africa. Microhodotermes is a desert specialist genus in Namib, Kalahari and Karoo, where their ranges overlap with Hodotermes .

Although wet wood termites are sometimes included with termite harvests, they are generally viewed as distinct lineages that only retain plesiomorphies from the more basal Isoptera.

Maps Hodotermitidae

Nest

They nest with digging the ground, unlike Termopsidae and Kalotermitidae. In the case of Hodotermes mossambicus , the scattered diffuse cherry flower system may lie near the surface of more than 6 m. The nest may be 60 cm wide and interconnected by the gallery. Loose particles from dug soil are brought to the surface and dumped at various points around the nest. The colony of Microhodotermes viator originally produced a small cone-shaped mound on the ground with sufficient clay content. The sociotomy, or mass movement of representatives of all castes in the colony to find new colonies, is unknown in Hodothermitidae.

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Breeding

As soon as it rains, flocks of termites fly, allies or reproductive winged emerge from their underground nests during summer evenings. When far enough from the mother's lair, they landed, lifted their wings and looked for a mate. The couple then dug a burrow to start a new colony. A week after huddling, the first female to spawn is inclined by the couple, the task is immediately taken over by the workers who are due. After about four months, this nest is developed enough to send workers to the surface. Over the next few years, most eggs develop into workers and a small army. When the nest is large enough, reproductive winged back to flourish.

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Diet and feed

Workers from M. viator collect most of the wood material, with Pteronia and the preferred vygie species. In contrast, the diet of H. mossambicus consists primarily of mature grass and/or frost or drought, although trees and shrubs are consumed to a lesser extent. In the stable isotope study H. mossambicus , grass components were found to account for more than 94% of their dietary intake. In this species, the sixth instar larvae digest and distribute food in the colony by stomodeal trophallaxis. Eating together also strengthens the integrity of the colony, because feeders discriminate against individuals with unknown gut microbiota.

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Predator

Termite Harvester forms a major component in diet of diurnal bat fox in east and south Africa. For this unusual diet, this fox has 48 small teeth compared to 42 teeth of all other dogs. They also have large ears to hear insects in their basement, before they are excavated. Similarly, the nocturnal fennec fox produces termites by digging. Although aardwolf is a special predator of certain Trinervitermes , they may assume some diurnal habit in winter to get termite harvester. The abundant foraging and digging activities of the aardvark are associated with the heuweltjies inhabited by the M. viator .

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Economic impact

They can drain the grass in the pasture and contribute to soil erosion, but are less effective when grasslands are not overdone or disturbed. However, in the long run, the decomposition and recycling of their plant material contribute to the soil fertility and global cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and other elements.

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References

src: static.inaturalist.org

External links

• Data related to Hodotermitidae on Wikispecies
• Media related to Hodotermitidae on Wikimedia Commons
• Ecology of termite terminals discussed in Mystery of the Elvis - Secret of Nature (21:50 - 25:30), YouTube

Source of the article : Wikipedia