''Macrotermes'' is a genus of

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

s belonging to the subfamily

Macrotermitinae The Macrotermitinae, the fungus-growing termites, constitute a subfamily of the family Termitidae that is only found within the Old World tropics. This subfamily consists of 14 genera and about 350 species and are distinguished by the fact that ...

and widely distributed throughout

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and South-East Asia. Well-studied species include ''

Macrotermes natalensis ''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 ...

'' and '' M. bellicosus.'' Like other genera in the

, they consume dead plant material indirectly by cultivating a basidiomycete fungus of the genus ''

Termitomyces ''Termitomyces'' is a genus of basidiomycete fungi belonging to the family Lyophyllaceae. There are 30-40 species in the genus, all of which are completely dependent on termites to survive. They are the food source for a subfamily of termites, th ...

'' on galleries inside – often very large – termite mounds. Frequently at the beginning of the rainy season, enormous swarms of winged flying adults disperse to establish new colonies.

Spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...

s are sown on the wood in the

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

and treated with a growth hormone. The termites feed on the resulting fungus garden. The fungi produce heat in the nest, which rises towards the closed chimney. The heat is exchanged via the chimney, and its smaller tunnels that lead to the surface. Carbon dioxide and oxygen are exchanged near the surface of the nest, and workers may open or block individual tunnels to regulate temperature.

Life cycle

Shortly after a nuptial flight, the fully claustral male and female pairs set off to immediately find a safe location to found a new colony, and unlike their

xylophagous Xylophagy is a term used in ecology to describe the habits of an herbivorous animal whose diet consists primarily (often solely) of wood. The word derives from Greek ''ξυλοφάγος'' (''xulophagos'') "eating wood", from ''ξύλον'' (') ...

relatives, instead sequester themselves within the native sand-clay soils of their habitat. The eggs can take anywhere between 15–30 days to hatch into several dozen nymphs, which later differentiate and mature into the first workers and soldiers. Similarly to Attini

fungus-growing ants Fungus-growing ants (tribe Attini) 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 ...

, the life cycle of these termites is intimately tied to that of their symbiote. ''Macrotermes'' like the majority of Macrotermitinae primarily practice the horizontal mode of transmission of their obligate symbiotic fungi, with the sole exception of ''Macrotermes bellicosus'' which practices vertical transmission of their symbiote; i.e, the reproductives carry fungus material within their crop to start new fungus gardens, as opposed to the mode of horizontal transmission where the spores of their ''

'' symbiote must be foraged for in the environment. A couple months after nuptial flights, mature colonies of species that practice the horizontal mode of transmission have mushrooms erupt from the surface of their nests. These mushrooms release spores into the environment which is timed to when the first workers of young colonies have begun foraging. Workers pick up these spores while foraging and ingest the spores incidentally while consuming detritus consisting of dead woods, grasses and leaves at varying stages of decomposition. The guts of the termites work to act as sterilization stations so that nothing but the ''Termitomyces'' spores survive. The spores are later defecated along with the partially digested lignocellulose material which is molded into the primordial fungus comb; a brown pillar-like structure. The spores germinate soon after and grow to cover the primordial comb, appearing as a smooth layer of silky white, tightly interwoven mycelium. As it digests the cellulose and matures, the fungus grows white nodules on the surface of the comb – which is what the termites eat directly. As the fungus exhausts the substrate in the comb, new substrate is added and the old substrate is then also eaten by the termites. Termitomyces heimii

Relationship with humans

''Macrotermes'' termites are economically important pests that damage crop plants, rangelands, wooden structures and books. They may cause yield losses of up to 100%. One study of wooden

utility poles A utility pole is a column or post typically made out of wood used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as transformers and street lights. It c ...

in Nigeria found that over two-thirds were infested by ''M. bellicosus''. The termites visibly eroded the poles' base and structural strength, causing 53% of infested poles to tilt. Some species of ''Macrotermes'' are eaten by humans in Africa. Alates are eaten the most, but workers and soldiers are also eaten and they are available throughout the year, unlike alates. One method of gathering them is to pour water over dry termite mounds in winter, mimicking the spring rains when termites are more active. In the South African province of

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature ...

, ''Macrotermes'' soldiers and workers often occur in yards in rural areas, and on sidewalks in towns. In Kenya, ''Macrotermes'' alates are sold commercially for retail prices comparable to that of goat meat. Trade of termites is dominated by women and involves collectors who sell to wholesalers, who then sell to retailers. The termites are typically preserved by drying, less commonly by frying. They are ground into flour for use in baking.

Species

The following species are included in the ''Termite catalogue'':

Gallery

File:Winged Termite (= Alate) (Macrotermes mossambicus ?) (12618469443).jpg, File:Reproductive Termite (Macrotermes mossambicus ?) after shedding its wings (12618919583).jpg, File:Fungus-growing Termites (Macrotermes carbonarius) (8683915274).jpg, File:Fungus-growing Termites (Macrotermes carbonarius) (8683922314).jpg,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14640326 Termites Termite genera