Termites are the most hated insects in many people's homes, whether it is a kitchen closet, or a table and chair door frame, termites can give you a strong outer dry. Especially in the Jiangnan area, there are basically the figures of this pest everywhere, which makes people feel overwhelmed. But what you don't know is that termites are not ants, but belong to the cockroach category!
Termites are social insects that, like other ants, are dominated by queens, creating an ant society that performs its own duties. The two are very similar, and many people automatically default to them as animals in the same subject, but in a 2017 study, scientists classified termites into cockroaches.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > termites are cockroaches? </h1>
According to the classification of subjects, termites belong to the insect family, cockroaches, and termite families, while ants belong to the insect class, hymenoptera, and ant family. Termites were not originally hymenoptera, but a separate isoptera.
Only in 2017, scientists discovered a South American cockroach called crypto-tailed cockroach, through DNA gene sequencing, found that termites and this cockroach are close relatives, which canceled the isoptera and classified it into the order cockroaches.
The crypto-tailed cockroach, which lives in the Appalachian Mountains of South America, lives a life very similar to that of termites. The only difference is that the crypto-tailed cockroach practices monogamy, unlike termites embracing a queen. The food of the hidden-tailed cockroach is also trees, and they will directly find a piece of wood, make a hole to make a nest, and breed directly in it.
The feeding style of the cryptotail cockroach is a bit "rough", and the food source of the cubs is the excrement of the anus of the fathers. Although it sounds disgusting, this secretion has the nutrients needed for the growth of small cockroaches, and can also excrete the microorganisms in the cockroaches of the father's generation about digesting wood.
This is a kind of treasure for the small crypto-tailed cockroach, after eating it, it can cultivate the corresponding microbial community, and later can eat the tree fibers like its parents.
It is this seemingly ordinary insect that makes the bloodline of termites find its roots, and termites are just cockroaches that evolve towards ants. Why do termites evolve towards ants? Quite simply, the ability to reproduce and spread has become stronger.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="30" > termite antization</h1>
Termites are very similar to ants and can be said to be evolving towards it. However, the habits of the two are still somewhat different, such as ants like to dig the ground, and termites like to build castles, mixing saliva and mud to make spectacular anthills on the South American grasslands. The anthill looks like tall termite office buildings from a distance, which is spectacular!
Termites in the South American steppes are simply in paradise, temperate termites only appear in the early summer, the temperature at this time is about 24-33 degrees Celsius, coupled with the relative humid temperature, is conducive to their reproduction.
In the South American grasslands, this condition can be basically achieved every evening, so at night in the grasslands, a large number of winged termites can often be seen from the cave and fly to the distant shore of happiness.
However, the probability of such pairing is actually not high, only about ten percent of the success rate. But this is already a high data for the large number of termites. Moreover, becoming a queen is the hero of the race, so many termites desperately marry and fly, only for the continuation of the race.
In fact, in this process, 90% of termites either lose their way or die at the hands of natural enemies, especially some natural enemies who "do not talk about martial arts"!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="34" >tian enemies who don't talk about martial arts"! </h1>
In South America, there is a kind of fluorescent beetle, which is more "immoral", and is an insect that lives in the nest. It not only occupies the nest of termites, but also feeds on termites that fly in marriage. This insect is basically distributed in the grasslands of South America (afraid of starvation in other places), and whenever night falls, it will glow green like a firefly, like a bright light in the night.
This light is not for play, but for attracting termites. When the termites in the marriage find the light, they will be attracted to it, and the larvae of the firefly will take the opportunity to feast. This is a cruel thing for termites who run for the light of love.
Fortunately, this bug is not so cruel when it grows up, and the illuminator will transform into a courtship signal.
The history of the firefly armor can be traced back to 100 million years ago, and the history of termites can be traced back to 250 million years ago, these two animals have loved and killed each other for hundreds of millions of years, really responding to the old saying: the road is one foot high and the devil is one foot high!
Although the firefly nails are very "cheap", I don't hate it, and I hope that it will be a little more numerous, so that you can see the beautiful night view on the South American grasslands. At the same time, it can also prevent excessive overfestation of termites, killing two birds with one stone!
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="39" > summary</h1>
Whether the termite is a cockroach or not, it is a kind of insect that everyone spits on, and I hate this animal very much, and some netizens also hate it to the bone. But I have to admit that termites still have some uses, such as termite nests will grow some special fungi, such as chicken fir fungus, ulin ginseng, etc., which is a blessing for foodies.
Secondly, the place where the termites are located will remain quite humid, and if the forest is in drought, the termite moisturizing behavior can play a good protective role!