Page 117 - Design in Nature

The Termite Colony and Its Chemical Defensive Systems 115

Termites start
building their
nests at
ground level.
As the
population of
the colony
expands, in
time the
termite nest is
enlarged
accordingly.
Its height can
reach up to
13-16 feet (4-5
metres).
dependent upon the existence of the king and queen who engage in

reproduction. The queen starts expanding after the first fertilisation. Its
length can reach up to 3.5 inches (9 centimetres), and it looks exactly like a
reproductive machine. It cannot move around easily. Since she does not do
anything other than lying eggs, there is a special crew only to take care of her
by feeding and cleaning her. She lays about thirty thousand eggs in a day,
which means close to ten million eggs in her lifetime.

Being barren, the worker termites take care of housekeeping in the
colony. Their lifespan ranges from two to four years. A certain group
constructs and maintains the termite nest. Another group watches over the
eggs, the newborn termites and the queen.
All members of the termite colony live together in organised
communities. The members of these communities communicate through
senses such as smell and taste, where chemical signals are exchanged. These

deaf, dumb and blind creatures perform and co-ordinate such complicated
duties as, building, hunting, stalking, security alerts and defence
manoeuvres, by means of chemical signals.
The worst enemies of the termite colonies are ants and anteaters. When