Page 53 - The Miracle of Termites
P. 53
A Fascinating
Nutritional
System
T ermites' nutritional needs differ from those of other crea-
tures, because their staple is cellulose—an energy-rich
source of carbohydrates found in green plants. But because cellulose is
thick and difficult to decompose, most insects cannot digest it.
The digestive enzymes secreted by most animals cannot break
down this thick carbohydrate. Termites are one of the rare creatures
that have the ability to digest cellulose and actually nourish them-
selves with wood, which to us is wholly indigestible.
But something else makes this nutritional system even more re-
markable. The termites themselves have no ability to break down cel-
lulose in wood; they can do so only because of microorganisms living
in their guts. 22
These organisms, each the size of a micron, perform their complex
chemical functions in this fashion:
