Mass Emergence: Termites

 On the morning of 20 November 2023 the small dome of Termes sp. located near the Brush Turkey mound erupted for about a half hour with thousands of alate (winged) reproductive termites taking flight. This was noted before in this Blog on 20 September 2010 from the same mound. See: https://bunyipco.blogspot.com/search?q=Termes The weather was cloudy and it has not rained for weeks. So just what triggered the emergence is hard to say.  If it rains later in the day, then maybe the termites are good weather forecasters.

Click on the photo to enlarge

Close examination will reveal that the mound is completely covered with termites that are about to fly off.

One of the flying termites. 

Having mated, females select a suitable site for a new nest and commence housekeeping. Only an extremely small percentage of individuals are successful in establishing a new nest. Birds, lizards, insects and other wildlife feast on the insects and other environmental factors limit successful establishment of a nest.

Termes on the Wing

 After several weeks of dry weather, we had a nice drop of rain. That prompted the local Termes species to initiate a nuptial flight. 

The mound was covered with hundreds of termites that took to the wing.

The termites were avidly eaten by birds and lizards and within 15 minutes it was all over.