13 May 2013
Monday macrobug: Flight of the termites
Posted by Callan Bentley
Termites can fly.
But not all termites.
Around here, the only flying termites are the reproductives – the fertile males and females that a termites colony produces periodically. It seems to be associated with the advent of spring.
I spotted this group a couple of weeks ago, when I noticed the sunlight catching in their diaphanous wings.
They hatch, emerge en masse, and take to the air, seeking a partner of the opposite sex.
It’s a busy scene when they emerge – lots of termites, lots of wing fluttering.
Once they have mated, they jettison their wings, and the female crawls underground (or into a suitable piece of wood?) to inoculate a new colony.
Stay away from my house, termites!
Callan Bentley is Associate Professor of Geology at Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. For his work on this blog, the National Association of Geoscience Teachers recognized him with the James Shea Award. He has also won the Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia, and the Biggs Award for Excellence in Geoscience Teaching from the Geoscience Education Division of the Geological Society of America. In previous years, Callan served as a contributing editor at EARTH magazine, President of the Geological Society of Washington and President the Geo2YC division of NAGT.
Nice “catch”!