Mound building termites are probably the most advanced architects in the animal kingdom. The main family of termites that build large and advanced mounds are the Macrotermitinae. Although better known from Africa, mound building Macrotermes species are also well distributed throughout tropical Asia as well.
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Archives for macrotermes
Termite pictures – Macrotermes gilvus
Macrotermes gilvus (Macrotimitinae) is the most common mound building termite throughout South East Asia, but at the same time, there are also several subspecies which have slight variation, mostly in terms of size. They build a stout mound which under good conditions, may attain large size, and reach almost 2 meters in height.
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Termite pictures – Macrotermes carbonarius
Macrotermes carbonarius is the only open foraging Macrotermes species and also the only black species, that I know of. It is found in South East Asia and parts of Indochina, but its range is patchy and it is only locally abundant. This means where it occurs, it is common, but where it is not found, there is no trace of them, even over vast swaths of what would be considered suitable habitat. It mainly occurs in lowland rainforest areas, but can be found in crop/agricultural plantations.
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Termite pictures – Macrotermes malaccensis
Macrotermes malaccensis is a large species of termite measuring about 17-18 mm in length from the mandible tips to the end of the abdomen (major soldier). It belongs to the genus Macrotermes (Holmgren), and is a subterranean species which grows fungus gardens in their subterranean nests, below ground level. Their size varies a little from one place to another though, with the low end size range being much more frequent.
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The Macrotermes termites
The Macrotermes genus (subfamily Macrotermitinae) has some very interesting species of termites. They are the largest termite species of all, if you take into account the size of the queen, which can attain a length of nearly 6 inches (15 cm) in Macrotermes natalensis. There are about 330 species in the Macrotermes genus, spread out over tropical Africa and Asia.
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