''Odontotermes obesus'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

in the family

Termitidae Termitidae is the largest family of termites whose members are commonly known as the higher termites. They are evolutionarily the most specialised termite group, with their highly compartmentalized hindgut lacking the flagellated protozoans comm ...

. It is native to tropical southwestern Asia. This termite cultivates a

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

fungus in a special chamber in the nest. Workers gather vegetable

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...

which they bring back to the colony, chewing up the material to make a suitable substrate on which the fungus will grow.

The colony

Termites of this species swarm from April and May onwards, before and during the wet season. After their nuptial flight, a pair of winged termites will search for a soil crevice or loose soil in which to establish their nest. The initial structure is a cone-shaped mound, with cone-shaped turrets; the fungus garden (sometimes called the comb) is at the centre of the cone with the royal chamber beneath. Galleries, runways and vaults are added as the colony expands, and the nest principally grows upwards. The fungus grown by the termites of this species is ''

Macrolepiota albuminosa ''Macrolepiota albuminosa'', or termite mushroom, is a species of agaric fungus in the family Agaricaceae that is an obligate symbiont of termites. The fruit bodies (mushrooms) of the fungus are edible. It is found growing from termitaria in gra ...

'', which exclusively grows in association with termites, and grows on the faecal deposits produced by the termites.

Ecology

The colony feeds exclusively on the fungus that they grow in their underground fungus garden. The workers forage for suitable materials to use as a substrate for their fungus garden, gathering bark, wood fragments, dead leaves and dry dung, and in so doing do considerable damage to crops including

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most w ...

sorghum ''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** ''Vigna sub ...

and

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

. The material they gather is chewed up and

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

in their gut help them to digest the

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...

by contributing enzymes such as

cellulase Cellulase (EC 3.2.1.4; systematic name 4-β-D-glucan 4-glucanohydrolase) is any of several enzymes produced chiefly by fungi, bacteria, and protozoans that catalyze cellulolysis, the decomposition of cellulose and of some related polysaccharide ...

and

xylanase Endo-1,4-β-xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8, systematic name 4-β-D-xylan xylanohydrolase) is any of a class of enzymes that degrade the linear polysaccharide xylan into xylose, thus breaking down hemicellulose, one of the major components of plant cell w ...

. The comb is constantly being reprocessed by being passed through the guts of worker termites, which feed on the oldest parts and produce new comb. The fungal

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one or ...

e grow swiftly through the newly processed comb. The fungus sometimes produces spherules, asexual reproductive bodies; these are eaten by the workers and also transported intact to be deposited in other parts of the fungus comb. The establishment of the fungal comb has been studied in a limited number of species. In some, the spherules are swallowed by the winged alates before they swarm, either the males or the females according to species, and retained as a bolus in the gut, the faeces later being used to establish a fungal comb in the new colony. In other species, such as '' Odontotermes montanus'', spherules are not transported, and the comb is established when foraging workers bring back

basidiospore A basidiospore is a reproductive spore produced by Basidiomycete fungi, a grouping that includes mushrooms, shelf fungi, rusts, and smuts. Basidiospores typically each contain one haploid nucleus that is the product of meiosis, and they are pro ...

s which come from the fruiting bodies (mushrooms) of the fungus which grow above ground on the termite mound.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q101246764 Termites Insects described in 1842 Insect pests of millets