Page 60 - The Miracle of Termites

Communication

in a Termite

Colony

S ocial life in a termite colony is flawless. The termites act to-

gether simultaneously as one body and cooperate in per-
forming all functions of the community. And, if we consid-
er that sometimes termites live with at least one million others, we can
easily understand the importance of a system of communication that
allows termites to provide a working area, come together and join for-
ces against intruders and manage all the other needs of the colony in

perfect harmony. This communication system is based on the ex-
change of chemical signals through smell or taste.
Now, let's compare the functioning of a million-member termite
community with that of a human community of the same size.
Think of more than 1,000,000 human beings living and working
together in one place. Imagine that they fulfill their cleaning, ventila-
tion, temperature and nutritional requirements all by themselves.
Performing such functions with such a large number of individu-
als would certainly take a lot of time and labor. A well planned organ-