Globitermes sulphureus
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| Globitermes sulphureus | ||||||||||||
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Globitermes sulphureus is a termite species that is native to Southeast Asia.
Occurrence
Globitermes sulphureus is very common in Central and South Vietnam, but also in other areas of Southeast Asia and Malaysia .
anatomy
Between five and ten percent of the population are soldier tites, which can be recognized by their yellow abdomen and two large, curved mandibles. The termites use autothesis as a defense mechanism.
buildings
They live in earth nests that can be up to 1.5 m tall and contain tens of thousands of individuals.
defense
When the nest is damaged, the soldier termites defend the nest and the workers quickly repair the damage to the nest walls. The soldiers stand on their feet on the alert and scan the area with their antennas. If the nest is attacked by ants, e.g. B. Oecophylla smaragdina , the workers flee immediately by retreating into the nest, while the soldiers stay outside to defend the nest. They will first try to catch and pierce the attackers with their large lower jaws. If this doesn't deter the attackers, some soldiers excrete a yellow fluid from a large gland that occupies a large part of their body. The fluid is forced out of the gland by contractions of the muscles in the lower jaw, compressing the gland walls. This liquid hardens quickly on contact with air, forming a sticky substance that traps ants and other termites. The secretion also contains a pheromone, which attracts more soldiers to fight the attackers. In some cases, the contractions are so violent that the termites tear themselves. This form of self-killing altruism is known as autothyroidism.
Nitrogen fixation
G. sulphureus is able to bind nitrogen. An experiment in Thailand showed that around 250 grams of nitrogen per hectare are bound each year. Although this contribution is only between 7% and 22% of the total nitrogen inputs in the ecosystem, it is believed to be relatively important as termites add it to dead wood and thereby accelerate its decomposition.
Foraging
G. sulphureus looks for areas of up to 62 m² and ventures up to 16 m from its nest.
control
The species is a significant pest in areas where it lives as it attacks wood structures and can damage coconut and oil palm plantations. Experiments have shown that it can be controlled with the insecticide imidacloprid.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Bordereau, C .; A. Robert; V. Van Tuyen; A. Peppuy (August 1997): Suicidal defense behavior through front gland dehiscence in soldiers of the Globitermes sulphureus Haviland (Isoptera) . Insects Sociaux. Birkhäuser Basel. 44 (3): 289-297. doi: 10.1007 / s000400050049 . ISSN 1420-9098 .
- ↑ a b Majid, Abdul Hafiz Ab .; Abu Hassan Ahmad; Rashid MZA; Che Salmah Md Rawi (2007). "Preliminary field effectiveness of Imidacloprid on Globitermes sulphureus (Isoptera: Termitidae) (underground termites) in Penang" (PDF). Jurnal Biosains. 18 (2): 109-114.
- ↑ Yamada, Akinori; Tetsushi inoue; Decha Wiwatwitaya; Moriya Ohkuma; Toshiaki Kudo; Atsuko Sugimoto (February 2006). "Nitrogen Fixation by Termites in Tropical Forests, Thailand". Ecosystems. Springer New York. 9 (1): 75-83. doi: 10.1007 / s10021-005-0024-7 . ISSN 1435-0629 .
- ↑ a b Lee, Chow-Yang; Jocelyn Yap; Peng-Soon Ngee; Zairi Jaal (2003). "Foraging colonies of an underground termite of a higher hill, Globitermes sulphureus (Haviland) in Malaysia" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Environmental Entomological Zoology. 14 (2): 105-112.