ItalianTermiteMan
Arachnosquire
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2023
- Messages
- 146
Worker, minor soldier and major soldier of Trinervitermes sp. pictured in Bubeng (China) by T.R.T. head researcher Dr. Jan Sobotnik.
Though the most well-known and conspicuous species are open-foraging specialists of African savannahs, the genus Trinervitermes extend in Asia all the way to southeastern China, though interestly they are almost completely absent from south-east Asian countries. These nasute termites sports impressive bimorphic soldiers, with the small but agile and numerous soldiers contrast quite remarkably with the "heavy artillery" represented by the majors.
In any case, their chemical defence ("shooting" strands of a toxic and irritant fluid that quickly hardens in contacr with air) is highly effective, especially against small invertebrate enemies like ants but also against most insectivore mammals; a notable exception is the African aardwolf (Proteles cristata), a nice critter from the Hyenidae family that developed a quite strong resistance to the chemical defence of several African species, allowing it to consume them in large quantities... but of course, these Chinese ones don't have to worry about them!
Though the most well-known and conspicuous species are open-foraging specialists of African savannahs, the genus Trinervitermes extend in Asia all the way to southeastern China, though interestly they are almost completely absent from south-east Asian countries. These nasute termites sports impressive bimorphic soldiers, with the small but agile and numerous soldiers contrast quite remarkably with the "heavy artillery" represented by the majors.
In any case, their chemical defence ("shooting" strands of a toxic and irritant fluid that quickly hardens in contacr with air) is highly effective, especially against small invertebrate enemies like ants but also against most insectivore mammals; a notable exception is the African aardwolf (Proteles cristata), a nice critter from the Hyenidae family that developed a quite strong resistance to the chemical defence of several African species, allowing it to consume them in large quantities... but of course, these Chinese ones don't have to worry about them!
