Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial insects which consume a wide variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied and often unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed “white ants”; however, they are not ants, to which they are only distantly related. About 2,972 extant species are currently described, 2,105 of which are members of the family Termitidae.
Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattodea (along with cockroaches). Termites were once classified in a separate order from cockroaches, but recent phylogenetic studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are deeply nested within the group, and the sister group to wood eating cockroaches of the genus Cryptocercus. Previous estimates suggested the divergence took place during the Jurassic or Triassic. More recent estimates suggest that they have an origin during the Late Jurassic, with the first fossil records in the Early Cretaceous.
Similarly to ants and some bees and wasps from the separate order Hymenoptera, most termites have an analogous “worker” and “soldier” caste system consisting of mostly sterile individuals which are physically and behaviorally distinct. Unlike ants, most colonies begin from sexually mature individuals known as the “king” and “queen” that together form a lifelong monogamous pair. Also unlike ants, which undergo a complete metamorphosis, termites undergo an incomplete metamorphosis that proceeds through egg, nymph, and adult stages. Termite colonies are commonly described as superorganisms due to the collective behaviors of the individuals which form a self-governing entity: the colony itself. Their colonies range in size from a few hundred individuals to enormous societies with several million individuals. Most species are rarely seen, having a cryptic life-history where they remain hidden within the galleries and tunnels of their nests for most of their lives.
Termites’ success as a group has led to them colonizing almost every global landmass, with the highest diversity occurring in the tropics where they are estimated to constitute 10% of the animal biomass, particularly in Africa which has the richest diversity with more than 1000 described species. They are important decomposers of decaying plant matter in the subtropical and tropical regions of the world, and their recycling of wood and plant matter is of considerable ecological importance. Many species are ecosystem engineers capable of altering soil characteristics such as hydrology, decomposition, nutrient cycling, vegetative growth, and consequently surrounding biodiversity through the large mounds constructed by certain species.
Termites have several impacts on humans. They are a delicacy in the diet of some human cultures such as the Makiritare in the Alto Orinoco province of Venezuela, where they are commonly used as a spice. They are also used in traditional medicinal treatments of various diseases and ailments, such as influenza, asthma, bronchitis, etc. Termites are most famous for being structural pests; however, the vast majority of termite species are innocuous, with the regional numbers of economically significant species being: North America, 9; Australia, 16; Indian subcontinent, 26; tropical Africa, 24; Central America and the West Indies, 17. Of known pest species, 28 of the most invasive and structurally damaging belong to the genus Coptotermes. The distribution of most known pest species is expected to increase over time as a consequence of climate change. Increased urbanization and connectivity is also predicted to expand the range of some pest termites.
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Ancient Network Of Massive Termite Mounds In Brazil Are “Biological Wonders”
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34,000-year-old termite mounds in South Africa are still being used
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Trophy hunting is shitty. I would be down though hunt some animals but I feel like you have to have something like a fair fight for it to mean anything.
Like, if you have a big stick and you kill a deer I have zero critiques. Someone sitting in a hunting blind with a feeder though, that is gathering not hunting. There is no glory there. Gathering is important and sometimes you do have to manage populations. Those are just not hunting. A guy who went on a guided tour and shot a lion with a gun? Gathering. You didn’t hunt shit.
Leave the animals alone comrade they’re just minding their own business
Nah, a deer can run faster than a human. They made their choice. Live by the sword die by the sword.
Like I am confident I could physically take down a western mule deer 1v1. I might not but it would be a fair fight. Howver they are faster to where I could never catch one. That simply wouldn’t happen. So if someone fought one hand to hand and won I would defend their right to take a trophy.
Plus, unlike most predators, herbivores absolutely will throw down and fight you to the death for literally no earthly reason. You walk up to a bear, pull a knife? It’s just going to amble off because it doesn’t want anything to do with that shit. You roll up to an elk in rut like you’re big shit? He’s got ten knives. ten knives. on his head. It’s on, and you’re not going to be the one walking away.
The native peoples describe hunting bears but doing just that. If you square up to a bear it usually would stand up and roar at you to try to scare you away and your buddies could put arrows in it. It’s first instinct was not to fight.
Bears are pretty chill like 95% of the time.
Bears gotta be careful. Men keep going in the woods
Yes but it is on us to protect bears by never letting them associate humans with getting food by using bear bags and/or bear canisters properly (even toothpaste goes in there, mint smells like food). As they say, a fed bear is a dead bear.
Well said
It’d be good if more people thought about bears this way. There are way too many discussions of " how do i protect myself from bears" but you hit the important question, how do we protect them from us.
I mean yeah there are objectively Too Many Deer in a lot of places and they will tip over the ecosystem if you let them. Part of that is because of running the wolves and bears out of their own habitats tho. Same with wild boars except they never had a predator.
Yeah, the 15-20 fearal hogs are on us. As to deer I have been reading that we are probbaly natural predators of deer. Like, the people of the americas had been managing the ecosystem long enough that the flora and fauna were adapted to it. The idea is that the food forest system was so finely tuned my ancestors thought it was just untouched nature and supposed to be like that. The low intensity agriculture they practiced seemed just way cooler and more efficient than high intensity agriculture like we practiced
It’s just pathetic. Like, you get in a knife fight with a bear, and you come out of it alive? Okay, yeah, show the bar your scars, I’ll buy you a beer, you did something there.
But shooting a bear? Bears are a symbol of power. They’re big, scary animals that have competed with us for resources for ten thousand years. Fighting one used to be a big deal. Even when it was done in a very coordinated way there was some degree of risk, something could go wrong and someone could get hurt.
But you didn’t fight a bear. You set up an ambush with a giant gun from a mile away, killed it when it didn’t even know you existed, and you did it specifically so people would think you’re a big man, a hunter, a warrior, a hero. That’s pathetic. That’s as low and miserable as you can get.
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