ItalianTermiteMan
Arachnoknight
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2023
- Messages
- 156
Hello there, today i want to share (with permission) with you a few majestic pics by photographer Paco Alarcón of a minor soldier and a major worker of Pseudacanthotermes spiniger that i collected in Camerun and gifted to him to have them pictured with such skill. This is a species of very peculiar and characteristic Subsaharian fungus-growing termites which was rather common around the village of Nguinda, even in disturbed areas (i found them twice inside pineapple fields among patches of forest). These build mounds, forage in the open and like the more commonly known Macrotermes have two morphs of workers (the minor and the major workers) and two of soldiers (the minor and major soldiers). Here we will focus on the minor soldiers and the major workers, but when pics of the two remaining forms will be made by Paco i will share those too for sure.
Let's start with the minor soldier. These tiny (approx 3.5 mm long) and well sclerified warriors are very peculiar-looking, almost ant-like; they are also quick and agile thanks to their very long legs, the antennae are similarly extremely long. These features are necessitated by the role of these minor soldiers as the main protectors of the workers when foraging in the open (while the much bulkier major soldiers are more often employed in static defence of the nest and galleries). Weaponry-wise, their main "tool" is a pair of very elongated, sabre-shaped mandibles made for cutting; however due to their very prominent fontanelle (that hair-rimmed pore well vsible in the second pic) they surely also employ a defensive chemical secretion from the frontal gland.
And now for the major worker. This robust form is mainly employed for foraging, mound maintenance, excavation and construction (while minor workers tend to be more active in caring for the fungus, the soldiers, the royals and the brood). They are larger and much buolkier than minor soldiers (albeit smaller than majors) and, despite not being built for combat, can and will still bite with their short but strong mandibles if pressed.
Can't wait for more pics from Paco!
Let's start with the minor soldier. These tiny (approx 3.5 mm long) and well sclerified warriors are very peculiar-looking, almost ant-like; they are also quick and agile thanks to their very long legs, the antennae are similarly extremely long. These features are necessitated by the role of these minor soldiers as the main protectors of the workers when foraging in the open (while the much bulkier major soldiers are more often employed in static defence of the nest and galleries). Weaponry-wise, their main "tool" is a pair of very elongated, sabre-shaped mandibles made for cutting; however due to their very prominent fontanelle (that hair-rimmed pore well vsible in the second pic) they surely also employ a defensive chemical secretion from the frontal gland.
And now for the major worker. This robust form is mainly employed for foraging, mound maintenance, excavation and construction (while minor workers tend to be more active in caring for the fungus, the soldiers, the royals and the brood). They are larger and much buolkier than minor soldiers (albeit smaller than majors) and, despite not being built for combat, can and will still bite with their short but strong mandibles if pressed.
Can't wait for more pics from Paco!
