Thousands and thousands of termites filled the air on a warm, humid day. This phenomenon, while filling every homeowner with a sense of dread, is something to see. Hoping to get a photo of the colony from which all of the airborne termites were emerging, I took some time to locate the source, but by then, the emergence was mostly finished. This species must have contact with the soil to survive, so they are unlikely to inhabit a wood structure with a good, concrete foundation.
From AnimalsDiversityWeb: R. flavipes reproduce in swarms. Swarming occurs when a colony reaches a certain size and when temperature and moisture levels are favorable. Usually this occurs on warm days after rainfall. Some researchers speculate that swarming occurs after rainfall because the ground is moist, which make it easier to create a new nesting site (Benavides, 1988). Alates, winged swarmers, fly from their native nest until they hit a "fracture point" in the air. This causes their wings to fall off (Benavides, 1998) This flight is not considered a mating flight because R. flavipes are only sexually attracted to their mates after their wings have broken off (Light, 1922). Once they find a mate, which takes a while because the female is choosy, they walk together to find a suitable nesting site. They mate after they've built a "nuptial chamber" in their new nest (Benavides, 1998). At her peak a queen will lay an egg every 3 seconds, or 30,000 a day. She will lay 10's of millions of eggs during her life
subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) workers and winged reproductives
subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) beginning their reproductive and distribution flights.
subterranean termites (Reticulitermes flavipes) workers and soldiers in decaying wood
Friday, March 12, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Archive
-
▼
2010
(167)
-
▼
March
(31)
- Coffee Beans (Coffea Arabica)
- Clean Energy – Leaf And Water
- Parastic Fly (Pyrgota undata)
- Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius)
- Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala)
- Vietnamese Mossy Frog (Theloderma corticale)
- How George Costanza Dresses: Morning Mist
- Colorful Wasp (Sphex habenus)
- Ornate Ichneumon Wasp (Thyreodon sp.)
- Black And Yellow Mud Dauber Wasp (Sceliphron caeme...
- Great Golden Digger Wasp (Sphex ichneumoneus)
- Skate Face (Raja rhina)
- Pollen Detail Of White Trillium (trillium Ovatum)
- White Trillium (trillium Ovatum)
- Winter Forest
- Oak and Palmetto Forest
- Atmosphere
- Pacific Madrone Tree (Arbutus menziesii)
- Grasshawk Dragonfly (Neurothemis fluctuans)
- Termites In The Air (Reticulitermes flavipes)
- Canyon Bat (Parastrellus hesperus) – What's In A N...
- Bat Bug
- More Fun With Parasites
- Vivid Dancer Damselfly With Passengers
- Fan Palm (Livistona endauensis)
- Photography As Adventure
- Aimless Shooting
- Ancient Elk In Rock Art
- Elk Living, Elk Dying
- Elk Predator
- Elk Calf (Cervus canadensis nelsoni)
-
▼
March
(31)
Sites I read
Details About Me
- OregonWild
- Portland, Oregon, United States
- Husband, Father, Student Of Natural History, Photographer
1 comment:
Interesting
Post a Comment