termites – News Stories About termites - Page 1

Termite Mounds Have Been Inhabited for 34K Years

Termite 'Apartment Complex'
Has Been Busy for 34K Years

Jul 4, 2024 4:20 PM CDT

Termite 'Apartment Complex' Has Been Busy for 34K Years

'We knew they were old, but not that old,' South African researcher says

(Newser) - Scientists in South Africa have been stunned to discover that termite mounds that are still inhabited in an arid region of the country are more than 30,000 years old, meaning they're the oldest known active termite hills. Some of the mounds near the Buffels River in Namaqualand were...

200M Dirt Piles
in Brazil Aren't
There by Accident

200M Dirt Piles in Brazil Aren't There by Accident

Termites have moved an insane amount of soil over 4,000 years

(Newser) - Around the time Egypt's pyramids were built, another massive project got underway in a different part of the world. And like the pyramids, the resulting site in northeastern Brazil is visible from space today. But there was no ramp or pulley, or even manpower. Rather, as entomologist Stephen Martin...

After the Battle, Army Ants
Leave No Soldier Behind

NEW STUDY

Apr 13, 2017 8:47 AM CDT

After the Battle, Army Ants Leave No Soldier Behind

Many ants injured in battle are saved by being carried back to the colony

(Newser) - A new study provides the first evidence that ants rescue members of their own colony post-battle even when those ants aren't in imminent danger, reports the Guardian . The observation came about when biologist Erik Frank was watching army ants march out to battle termites in highly patterned formation—"...

Theory May Finally Explain
Fabled 'Fairy Circles'

Jan 19, 2017 9:54 AM CST

Theory May Finally Explain Fabled 'Fairy Circles'

It's a combo of plants and termites

(Newser) - Scientists are always crashing the party when they bring the likeliest but often mundane reasons for mysterious phenomena. Such is the case in Namibia, where so-called "fairy circles" that pockmark the desert are now being explained in the journal Nature as not the footprints of gods or poisoned patches...

2 Ruinous Termite Species Have Mated in Florida

Mar 26, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

2 Ruinous Termite Species Have Mated in Florida

"They're two bad ones, too," says not-encouraging-sounding bug expert

(Newser) - Two particularly hungry, exotic termite species apparently have found love halfway around the world—and, as with so many other Florida hookups, the results are disturbing. Asian and Formosan subterranean termites are two of the most destructive termite species in the world, responsible for much of the estimated $40 billion...

Desert 'Fairy Circles'
Made by ... Termites?

study says

Mar 28, 2013 5:55 PM CDT

Desert 'Fairy Circles' Made by ... Termites?

German scientist thinks he's solved the mystery

(Newser) - It's kind of a let-down, if true. A German scientist says the mysterious "fairy circles" that have long cropped up in the desert of southwest Africa are caused by humble sand termites, reports Global Post . The critters live beneath the soil and thrive on grass roots, explains Norbert...

Elderly Termites
Grow Suicide
Backpacks

weird science

Jul 27, 2012 4:58 PM CDT

Elderly Termites Grow Suicide Backpacks

... and then explode them when enemies invade

(Newser) - Some termites grow up to be suicide bombers. Researchers observing the termite species Neocapritermes taracua found that certain workers, when they became elderly, grew a pair of dark blue spots between their abdomen and torso. When invaders raided their colony, these aging workers bit the intruders and then exploded the...