Cathedral Termite Mound Australia
by Venetia Featherstone-Witty
Title
Cathedral Termite Mound Australia
Artist
Venetia Featherstone-Witty
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
This is just one of the many magnificent constructions made by termites in the deserts of Australia.Termites are a group of eusocial insects that were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera, but are now accepted as the infraorder Isoptera, of the cockroach order Blattodea.While termites are commonly known, especially in Australia, as "white ants," they are not closely related to the ants.The sculptured mounds sometimes have elaborate and distinctive forms, such as those of the compass termite (Amitermes meridionalis and A. laurensis) which build tall, wedge-shaped mounds with the long axis oriented approximately north to south, which gives them their common name. This orientation has been experimentally shown to assist thermoregulation. The thin end of the nest faces towards the sun at its peak intensity, hence taking up the least possible heat, and allows these termites to stay above ground where other species are forced to move into deeper below ground areas. This also allows the compass termites to live in poorly drained areas where other species would be caught between a choice of baking or drowning.The column of hot air rising in the aboveground mounds helps drive air circulation currents inside the subterranean network. The structure of these mounds can be quite complex. The temperature control is essential for those species that cultivate fungal gardens and even for those that do not; much effort and energy is spent maintaining the brood within a narrow temperature range, often only plus or minus 1 Celsius over a day.
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Uploaded
November 19th, 2014
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