Amitermes laurensis

(Mound Building Termite)

Description

On campus this termite builds simple conical mounds, but in northern Cape York the same species builds magnetic mounds in areas which are seasonally inundated. These termites feed on dead grass which the workers harvest at night. The mounds are built up by soil brought up from beneath the surface and which is glued together by saliva and excreta produced by workers. The green on the surface of the mound in the photograph, which was taken at the end of the wet season, is the filamentous green alga Klebsormidium sp. Ectomycorrhizal fungi have also been recorded on the surface of mounds (Spain et al., 1998).

Additional images