"Termites flying in the sky are even more terrifying than heavy rain"
"Termites are rampant, and people who are secretly frightened are directly frightened"
"It's too much, it's so scary."
……
Recent
Many people's circle of friends is brushed by termites
What the hell is going on?
(High Energy Ahead)
↓↓
It is understood
As temperatures rise and the rainy season comes
In recent days, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and other places
Begin to enter the high incidence of termites
#Shanghai Termite #Topic
It was also once on the hot search
Facing the mighty "army of termites"
Many netizens said
It's just ridiculously much
I was really frightened
so
Why is this happening?
What harm do termites cause to humans?
And how to prevent it?
Let's take a look!
What are termites?
Termites, also known as mantises, but they are not white ants.
In terms of insect taxonomy, termites belong to the termite family of cockroaches (isoptera), cockroaches commonly known as cockroaches, about 6,000 species, and termites have 3,000 species, accounting for half of the cockroach species.
Termites live in groups like ants, including queens, males, worker ants, soldier ants, etc., but according to DNA studies, it is more closely related to cockroaches.
Ants belong to the hymenoptera ant family and are more closely related to bees and wasps. They do not belong to the same family, and this similarity in living habits is called "convergent evolution", for example, fish and seals and whales are similar in size, but the relationship between the three is not close, and bats and horses that seem to be unable to hit with eight rods belong to the same pegasus in taxonomy.
What harm do termites do to humans?
Termites have long been considered pests because they are particularly edible.
Termites eat crops and wood in large quantities, causing great harm to trees and house construction. Even if the wooden structure is not used as the main material of the house, termites can still cause devastating damage by digging holes in the ground, and this is how the of a thousand miles is destroyed by the ant nest.
Termites harm wooden beams Source: Xinhua Net
In addition, paper can also become food for termites. Termites can even corrode silver, secreting formic acid to oxidize silver and eat it.
Curiously, although the staple food of termites is wood, they cannot digest the wood fibers, but are aided by a protozoa called Phi-Fil-fil-dʼh Pt.
It is a species of flagella that secretes an enzyme that digests cellulose, and if there is no such flagella in the intestines of termites, it will be starved alive.
Every time the termite molts, they also replace the intestinal epithelium, at which point the phibets form spores that are eaten by the termites again. Newly hatched small termites do not have hairworms in their intestines, and can only be obtained by licking the anus of other termites.
Globally, termite damage causes direct economic losses of tens of billions of dollars each year. China is one of the countries seriously affected by termites, known termites have 4 families, 44 genera and 479 species, most of which are distributed in the area south of the Huai River, which is very rare in the north.
Termites prefer humid environments, so the provinces with the most species are Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan, while Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and other regions have not yet been found.
Termite queen reproductive glands are very developed, the stomach is so large that it loses the ability to take care of itself, it can lay tens of thousands of eggs every day, and its life span can reach fifteen to twenty years, so the number of termites in the world is very large, according to computer simulations, if the termites in the world are divided equally into each person, then each person can get 0.5 tons! Fortunately, most termites have a lifespan of only a few months.
Where do termites come from? Why do they reproduce where humans live?
Every year from April to June, it is the breeding season of termites, and winged termites fly out of their original nests to mate. When they fly out in large numbers, they are often eaten by other animals, and often only a few of them survive.
Termites are as phototropic as other insects, so at night when someone turns on the lights, it will fly inside. In addition, the place where humans live is generally relatively small for other animals, so it has become the most suitable place for them to mate and breed.
When the male and female termites are paired, their wings fall off, and after a week they begin to lay eggs, after a month the first larvae hatch, and in another month, the larvae become adult worker ants and soldier ants.
Most people now have very little wood in their homes, so what do they eat?
Many seemingly indigestible things, such as man-made fibers, plastics, wires, cables and even bricks, stones, metals, etc., can be eaten by termites, which use formic acid to corrode and melt these objects.
In addition, if there is really little food, termites can also swallow termite carcasses in the same nest, the old skin under the development of young ants, and in the absence of external food, they will also swallow eggs and even young ants.
How to control termites?
Termites have such a strong reproductive ability that many animals that take them as staple food are born in nature, such as pangolins, anteaters, aardoniacs, armadillos, sloth bears, coyotes, etc., but the current living conditions of these animals are not very good, making termites more rampant.
Termite nests are generally relatively hidden, insecticides may not be able to kill them, but also easy to accidentally injure other organisms, causing pollution.
At present, there are many studies using bacteria and fungi to control termites, and termites can be eliminated by 100% within one month. According to national policy, termites can be exterminated free of charge for houses that are still within the 15-year warranty period.
To prevent termite invasion, there must be screen windows in the home, and try not to have damp and warm debris accumulated.
In addition, it is not recommended that everyone kill ants on their own, because the agents used are toxic and require professional operation.