Page 37 - The Miracle of Termites

Adnan Oktar

Soldier Termites
Their only duty is to protect their colony.

But to protect the nest, this tiny defense army
exposes itself to all manner of dangers, to the
point of sacrificing their own lives. And
they do not care how large the enemy is.
For example, when the nest is invaded by its big-
gest enemies, ants and anteaters, a "suicide squad" goes into ac-
tion to remove the threat. Many termites will die in the course of the
defense, and we will examine this self-sacrificial behavior among ter-
mites in a later chapter.

The bodies of soldier termites vary according to their species, but
each has a physical design totally appropriate to their duties. For ex-
ample, African termites have razor-sharp jaws; South American ter-
mites have a squarish head and a lower jaw longer than their whole
body, which they use to kill their enemies. Some termites in Malaysia
explode themselves like suicide bombers, drowning the aggressor in a
dark yellow fluid. Worker termites of some species in Africa and South

America protect the colonies in a different way. These workers squirt
a fluid from their intestines at an enemy; as a result, their inner organs
explode, and they die. 11
Soldiers of nearly all termite species have large, muscular jaws
which they use to tear an enemy to pieces. The sizes of soldier ter-
mites' jaws are roughly the same, but the shape of their heads varies
according to species. These differences are sometimes quite striking.
Certain soldiers have long heads, while those of other species are pow-
erful and hard. The reason for this difference is the various fighting

techniques among termites. For example, termites with long heads use
12
them to squirt sticky fluid at an aggressor. Termites with large heads
use them as barriers to plug up holes in the nest and prevent enemies

The Termite Army 35