News articles tagged with 'termite'
Ants and termites boost dryland wheat yields
— 2 Apr 2011 11:19 | EnvironmentAnts and termites have a significant positive impact on crop yields in dryland agriculture, according to a paper published today in the journal Nature Communications by scientists at…
Termites foretell climate change in Africa's savannas
— 8 Sep 2010 12:24 | EnvironmentUsing sophisticated airborne imaging and structural analysis, scientists at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology mapped more than 40,000 termite mounds over 192 square…
Don't let your termites grow up to be mommies
— 9 Jul 2010 10:07 | BiologyA North Carolina State University entomologist has for the first time shown which specific chemicals are used by some termite queens to prevent other termites in the colony from becoming…
Lowly termite, not the lion or elephant, may be the star of Africa's savanna
— 26 May 2010 10:40 | BiologyThe majestic animals most closely associated with the African savanna - fierce lions, massive elephants, towering giraffes - may be relatively minor players when it comes to shaping…
Homebound termites answer 150-year-old evolution question
— 7 Oct 2009 14:33 | BiologyStaying at home may have given the very first termite youngsters the best opportunity to rule the colony when their parents were killed by their neighbours. This is according to new…
Termites eavesdrop on competitors to survive
— 26 Aug 2009 10:27 | BiologyThe drywood termite, Cryptotermes secundus, eavesdrops on its more aggressive subterranean competitor, Coptotermes acinaciformis, to avoid contact with it, according to scientists from…
Discovery in amber reveals ancient biology of termites
— 15 May 2009 10:43 | Geology and palaeontologyThe analysis of a termite entombed for 100 million years in an ancient piece of amber has revealed the oldest example of 'mutualism' ever discovered between an animal and microorganism,…
Birds do it, bees do it; termites don't, necessarily
— 26 Mar 2009 18:00 | BiologyScientists at North Carolina State University and three universities in Japan have shown for the first time that it is possible for certain female termite 'primary queens' to reproduce…
Panamanian termite goes ballistic: Fastest mandible strike in the world
— 25 Nov 2008 19:52 | BiologyA single hit on the head by the termite Termes panamensis (Snyder), which possesses the fastest mandible strike ever recorded, is sufficient to kill a would-be nest invader, report…
Digesting the termite digestome - a way to make biofuels?
— 22 Oct 2008 12:30 | TechnologyIf the biofuel known as bioethanol is to make a major contribution to our fuel supplies, then we may well require the assistance of some tiny insect helpers, says Michael Scharf, an…