Giant northern termite, Darwin termite
Mastotermes darwiniensis, common names giant northern termite and Darwin termite, is a termite species found only in northern Australia. It is the most primitive extant termite species. Contrary to common belief, this species does not form mounds as the nests are subterranean and inconspicuous. Colonies will readily occupy and infest decomposing wood but primarily live in a complex subterranean network of tunnels and galleries which they use to travel to new food sites. Colonies may eventually split and form isolated satellite colonies.
No
NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
Te
TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Ov
OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Eu
EusocialM
starts with
Unlike cockroaches, only the reproductives have wings (see Life cycle of termites); wings that are considerably longer than their abdomen. Alates are approximately 35 mm long with a 50 mm wingspan. Soldiers are 11–13 mm long and workers are 10–11.5 mm long. The soldiers have an alarm defense system which warns nest-mates within the colony of potential dangers. Two ways they communicate these dangers is through pheromones secreted in its labial glands, and by creating vibrations through movements.
Mastotermes darwiniensis is usually not very numerous, nor are the colonies large when left to natural conditions. However, when given abundant water (such as regular irrigation) and favourable food and soil conditions (such as stored timber or timber structures), populations can be enormous, numbering in the millions, quickly destroying their host. Its diet is varied, as it will eat introduced plants, damaged ivory and leather, and wood and debris, and in fact almost anything organic. It becomes a major agricultural pest, to the extent that vegetable farming has been virtually abandoned in Northern Australia wherever this termite is numerous, which it is outside of the rain forest or bauxite soils. It has developed the ability to bore up into a living tree and ring bark it such that it dies and becomes the center of a colony.
Mastotermes darwiniensis is the only known host of the symbiotic protozoan Mixotricha paradoxa, remarkable for its multiple bacterial symbionts.
