Tag: "termites" at biology news

Termites get the vibe on what tastes good

...searchers from CSIRO and UNSW@ADFA have shown that termites can tell what sort of material their food is made ...nd other materials, the researchers found that the termites always preferred the blocks containing the most wood ?even though they could not touch or see the ot...

New genetic analysis forces re-draw of insect family tree

...s the different species of social insects, such as termites and bees, closer together - suggesting that the ab...l as among more distantly related insects, such as termites and aphids. "That beetles don't show this tendency, known as eusociality, has been interpreted a...

Gut reaction: Researchers define the colon's genome

...on of TIGR, who has previously studied the guts of termites and other animals. "We might compare different individuals, with different diets, for instance." More broadly, the new work could become the opening salvo of a Human Microbiome Project that defines the microbial side of ourselves, suggests co-autho...

Environmental metagenomics diagnosing extreme environments, tapping opportunities for clean energy

...a byproduct. "It's not as if we are going to put termites in our tank, but if we can harness the termite microbe enzymes that breakdown lignocellulose and make hydrogen, we may end up with a commercially viable process," says Rubin. ...

Wild Gorillas Handy with a Stick

... the wild. (Chimps famously use sticks to fish for termites and rocks to crack nuts in the wild; orangutans use sticks to extract seeds from the spiny, sharp husk of Neesia fruits in the wild, and bonobos use various tools, including moss as sponges and leafy twigs to swat away bees.) That no one has ever obs...

Fungus-farming termites descend from an African rain forest Eve

...h cultivate fungi as food inside their nests. Such termites can be found in both rain forest and savannah habi...ts of the Old World. The relationship between the termites and the cultivated fungus represents an impressive example of mutualistic symbiosis. The termites us...

Fungus Effective Against Winged Termites

...the South, the annual emergence of fertile, winged termites swarming furiously to scatter and search for mates...n New Orleans, as the swirling, airborne masses of termites become more conspicuous, researchers with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are busy developin...

Bugs, even 'bad' ones, can be educationally beneficial, new book says

...rites. For example, homeowners typically think of termites as pests, but in forests termites are important for recycling dead wood. Waldbauer spent 15 years studying the cecropia moth (Hyaloph...

Cousin of Asian super termite invades Florida

...the pest, Su said residents should look for winged termites flying around lights at dusk and in the evening. T...led noviflumuron, a growth regulator that prevents termites from molting, thereby reducing the ability of the worker population to sustain underground colonies....

Termites feed through good vibrations

Discovery that termites use vibrations to choose the wood they eat may pro... Evans says laboratory experiments have found that termites use their ability to detect vibrations to determine which food source is most suitable. The termites...

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