Showing posts with label Termites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Termites. Show all posts

Friday, April 16, 2010

Microbes hosted by generations of Termites and Man!



Usually we think that microbes are harmful and that they
impair our health. But here is an example for their good beneficial work without which our Termite (Mastotermes darwinensis) cannot live at all! Protozoan (Trichonympha) and other Microbes live in the guts of these termites and aid in the digestion of Cellulose of plant materials by secreting out the enzyme, Cellulase - to release energy from it! (Note here the fact that humans are also weak to digest cellulose!).

Monday, December 14, 2009

Insects evolving to the world of fame!



Curious creatures are these ants, bees, wasps and termites. In and near every household of the world we meet one or more of them at any given time. All these come under one Order, Hymenoptera. There are much similarities than some dissimilarities among them.
They are mostly social in nature and build colonies for themselves to dwell. Basically, in common (for example, ants) they have Workers, Soldiers, Kings (Drones) and Queens as members in their colonies. The Workers and Soldiers are sterile, wingless and are females; they develop from unfertilized eggs as diploid members. Winged males (kings or drones) are haploid and fertile!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...