| Macrotermes michaelseni | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Blattodea |
| Infraorder: | Isoptera |
| Family: | Termitidae |
| Genus: | Macrotermes |
| Species: | M. michaelseni |
| Binomial name | |
| Macrotermes michaelseni (Sjöstedt, 1914) | |
| Synonyms [1] [2] | |
| |
Macrotermes michaelseni is a species of termite in the family Termitidae, found in sub-Saharan Africa. It is associated with the fungus Termitomyces schimperi . [3]
Macrotermes michaelseni is one of several different species of the genus Macrotermes which occur in savannahs in sub-Saharan Africa. These species vary in their soil preferences, some favoring moister habitats, but M. michaelseni can be more tolerant of drier habitats. The species is common in the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana, especially in catchment areas that sees periodic flooding from summer rains. Areas with clay soils and high groundwater levels are favourable to it, and there are up to six mounds per hectare in the delta area. [3]
Nests of Macrotermes michaelseni initially consists of a number of chambers and tunnels completely underground. A mound is built above the ground only in a mature colony, which in time can become an enormous structure, with ridges, pinnacles and chimneys, [4] up to 4 m (13 ft) tall covering an area of up to 50 m2 (540 sq ft). Below the surface of the ground is an extensive network of chambers and foraging passageways. Apart from the sealed mound, with its air passages, the colony lives largely underground, the workers using the foraging tunnels to access feeding areas and carry the food they collect back to the nest. [3]
The termite workers forage at night, gathering dead grass, grass litter and woody litter. In savannah woodland, leaves from Croton megalocarpus , Philenoptera violacea , Vachellia erioloba and Colophospermum mopane forms the bulk of the leaf litter collected, with elephant dung being favoured at the end of the dry season. The vegetation is carried back to the nest along the foraging passageways both day and night, where it is chewed up by younger workers. They mould their faeces and deposit them on a comb structure on which fungi grow. [3] When the comb is eaten by the termites, the fungal spores pass through their gut to complete the cycle by germinating in the fresh faecal pellets. [5]
The fungus which is associated with M. michaelseni is Termitomyces schimperi . The fruiting bodies, with their large, white, scaly caps, are found growing above ground at the base of the termite mound. They appear after heavy rain, and reappear annually beside the same mound, the hyphae extending down to the termite nest beneath the ground. [2]
In the Okavango Delta, M. michaelseni is considered to be an ecosystem engineer. [3] A mature colony may contain over a million termites including nymphs, workers and soldiers. Material is collected from a radius of fifty metres or more around the nest and brought to a central location where nutrients are thus concentrated. Clay particles are also collected for mound-building, and the area close to the mound is gradually raised slightly above the surrounding flat land. The delta is subject to occasional flooding, and when this happens, the mounds and their low islands project above the surface of the water. The colony of termites below may be killed, but there is a tendency for new colonies to become established at the same location. The mounds are a favourable habitat for herbs and woody plants to grow, with their associated invertebrates and other animals, and biodiversity increases. [3]
Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial insects which consume a wide variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied and often unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed "white ants"; however, they are not ants, to which they are distantly related. About 2,972 extant species are currently described, 2,105 of which are members of the family Termitidae.
Leafcutter ants, a non-generic name, are any of 47 species of leaf-chewing ants belonging to the two genera Atta and Acromyrmex. These species of tropical, fungus-growing ants are all endemic to South and Central America, Mexico, and parts of the southern United States. Leafcutter ants can carry twenty times their body weight and cut and process fresh vegetation to serve as the nutritional substrate for their fungal cultivates.
Fungus-growing ants comprise all the known fungus-growing ant species participating in ant–fungus mutualism. They are known for cutting grasses and leaves, carrying them to their colonies' nests, and using them to grow fungus on which they later feed.
Mound-building termites are a group of termite species that live in mounds which are made of a combination of soil, termite saliva and dung. These termites live in Africa, Australia and South America. The mounds sometimes have a diameter of 30 metres (98 ft). Most of the mounds are in well-drained areas. Termite mounds usually outlive the colonies themselves. If the inner tunnels of the nest are exposed it is usually dead. Sometimes other colonies, of the same or different species, occupy a mound after the original builders' deaths.
Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, cladistically making them cockroaches as well. The Blattodea and the mantis are now all considered part of the superorder Dictyoptera. Blattodea includes approximately 4,400 species of cockroach in almost 500 genera, and about 3,000 species of termite in around 300 genera.
Atta sexdens is a species of leafcutter ant belonging to the tribe Attini, native to America, from the southern United States (Texas) to northern Argentina. They are absent from Chile. They cut leaves to provide a substrate for the fungus farms which are their principal source of food. Their societies are among the most complex found in social insects. A. sexdens is an ecologically important species, but also an agricultural pest. Other Atta species, such as Atta texana, Atta cephalotes and others, have similar behavior and ecology.
Termitomyces, the termite mushrooms, is a genus of basidiomycete fungi belonging to the family Lyophyllaceae. All of which are completely dependent on fungus-growing termites, the Macrotermitinae, to survive, and vice versa. They are the food source for these termites, who enjoy an obligate symbiosis with the genus similar to that between Atta ants and Attamyces mushrooms. Termitomyces mushrooms are edible, and are highly regarded for their flavor.
Fungivory or mycophagy is the process of organisms consuming fungi. Many different organisms have been recorded to gain their energy from consuming fungi, including birds, mammals, insects, plants, amoebas, gastropods, nematodes, bacteria and other fungi. Some of these, which only eat fungi, are called fungivores whereas others eat fungi as only part of their diet, being omnivores.
The Macrotermitinae, the fungus-growing termites, constitute a subfamily of the family Termitidae that is only found within the Old World tropics.
Macrotermes bellicosus is a species of Macrotermes. The queens are the largest amongst known termites
Termitomyces schimperi is a large mushroom associated with the termite species Macrotermes michaelseni. It grows in the northern part of Southern Africa, from northern Namibia up to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), eastwards to Malawi and Mozambique, and westwards to Ivory Coast.
Termitotrox cupido is a species of scarab beetle in the subfamily Termitotroginae. It was first described by Munetoshi Maruyama in 2012, having been discovered living inside a nest of the termite Hypotermes makhamensis in Cambodia. It is a tiny, blind and flightless insect.
Hypotermes makhamensis is a species of termite in the subfamily Macrotermitinae of the family Termitidae. It lives in dry evergreen forests in tropical south-eastern Asia and builds termite mounds in which it cultivates fungus for use as food.
Macrotermes is a genus of termites belonging to the subfamily Macrotermitinae and widely distributed throughout Africa and South-East Asia. Well-studied species include Macrotermes natalensis and M. bellicosus.
Macrotermes carbonarius, also known as Kongkiak in Malay, is a large black species of fungus-growing termite in the genus Macrotermes. It is one of the most conspicuous species of Macrotermes found in the Indomalayan tropics, forming large foraging trails in the open that can extend several metres in distance. M. carbonarius is a highly aggressive species with the soldiers possessing large curving mandibles that easily break skin. It is found in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Termitomyces eurrhizus species of agaric fungus in the family Lyophyllaceae native to Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, southwestern China and Malaysia. The fungus has a symbiotic relationship with termites, its mushrooms growing out of mounds after periods of rainfall. It is eaten in Malaysia and the Indian subcontinent.
Macrotermes natalensis is a fungus-growing termite species that belongs to the genus Macrotermes. This species is associated with the Termitomyces fungal genus. M. natalensis has domesticated Termitomyces to produce food for the colony. Both termite species- fungal genus- are obligate and mutually beneficial where termite relies on the fungus to break down for plant materiel and nutrient resource. In contrast, the fungal species obtain plant material and optimal conditions for growth.
Odontotermes is a termite genus belonging to subfamily Macrotermitinae, which is native to the Old World. They are most destructive in wooden homes, and are agricultural pests in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. It is the most diverse termite genus in Africa, with 78 species recorded.
Odontotermes obesus is a species of termite in the family Termitidae. It is native to tropical southwestern Asia. This termite cultivates a symbiotic fungus in a special chamber in the nest. Workers gather vegetable detritus which they bring back to the colony, chewing up the material to make a suitable substrate on which the fungus will grow.
Odontotermes formosanus is a species of fungus-growing termite in the family Termitidae. It is native to southeastern Asia and was first described from Taiwan. This termite cultivates a symbiotic fungus in a special chamber in the nest. Workers and soldiers gather vegetable detritus which they bring back to the colony, chewing the material to a pulp to make a suitable substrate on which to grow the fungus.