8 amazing facts about termites

Everyone loves to hate this little creature that is the size of a grain of rice.

Yes, termites do strike fear into the hearts of even the most stoic homeowners.

Yes, they are the mortal enemies of our home and our furniture. Yes, once they attack, it is impossible to make them leave on their own.

Even then, these little buggers are worthy of admiration. Check out these amazing facts about termites

Nature’s best decomposers

Termites are soil dwellers.

In nature, they decompose dead leaves and decaying wood.

The tunnels they dig, help aerate the soil. In cities, they venture into our homes as there is not much to eat in the soil.

Their gut has over 1400 types of bacteria that can break down the wood and digest it easily.

This ancient creature has walked the earth for over 250 million years.

It is so well-spread that if we weigh every human being on earth, termites will be 10X that weight!

Same parent, different roles

Most parents will envy the termite queen.

Because she decides what her offspring will become!

All termite nymphs (new born) are the same. The queen takes a call what the nymph will grow into, basis the need of the colony.

She feeds the specific pheromone to turn a batch into soldier, worker or an egg-laying termite.

SOS code

Remember old war movies where the hero gallantly taps to share an SOS of Morse code to his allies?

Termite soldiers do the same.

They tap or bang their heads furiously against the walls of their colony to create colony-wide vibrations to warn other termites about an impending danger!

Why bosses will love them

Termites have just one goal in life.

Taking care of their colony. They never sleep and serve their colony 24x7 till their last breath!

We may hate them, but still, we need to admire their commitment to the common goal!

All hail the queen

Do you recall the Sigourney Weaver’s Alien movies — where the Queen lays eggs?

Picture that, multiplied, several times. Besides deciding what her babies will grow into, the queen is literally, an egg-producing factory.

She can lay 15 to 25 eggs every minute. That is well over 40,000… every day.

So, don’t get too pleased when you find a few termites and kill them with a spray. There are 40,000 of his family members born, ready to attack you, every day!

To each, his own — the blind feed the guardians

The termites have a strict caste system -the soldier who guards, the worker who builds the colony, the queen who lays eggs and the backup flightless queens.

And they depend on one another! The worker termites are blind and the soldier termites (due to large mandibles) can’t eat directly.

So the blind brothers feed the guardian brothers by regurgitating food directly into their mouths!

So chances are, that if you spot termites in your home, most of them are blind worker termites who are out to get food for their entire family!

Home is where the heart is

Termites stay in the soil– the ones that venture into your home are just dropping in for a food fiesta.

The termite nest is both underground and above the ground.

The mounds on top act as an air-conditioning system to regulate the temperature within.

Protein feast

If termites feast on human homes, it could be karma, as humans feast on termites too.

Like most insects, they are rich in good proteins, along with iron and amino acids.

Taste-seekers from Singapore pay up to 7 dollars for a single queen termite.

However, in African countries, termites form a good protein source for the impoverished population.

So, the next time you spot a termite in your home, you will have to give it credit for having an awesome social structure and being a bonafide decomposer.

After that, you can call pest control!