home.social

#termite — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #termite, aggregated by home.social.

  1. Termites make more than 200 #terpenoids, but how? This study reveals that a #termite -specific expansion of the geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (GGPS) gene family has generated enzymes capable of making the queen #pheromone (3R,6E)-nerolidol & precursors of polycyclic defensive diterpenes @PLOSBiology plos.io/4ujXu9z

  2. Getting the house termite-tented for the next three days. It’s been nearly 20 years—time.
    Add in a cat, a dog, and an autistic teenager, and the last two days of prep have felt like I’ve been to hell and back.
    Really hoping this turns out like a colonoscopy: the prep is far worse than the actual event.
    #termite #springbreak #sulfurylfluoride

  3. 5-Mar-2026
    Diversification of #termite diets was made possible by #genome modifications
    Study reveals that evolutionary divergence occurred before ecological divergence, enabling these #insects to feed on both wood and soil. Future discoveries may be applied to the production of #biofuels.

    eurekalert.org/news-releases/1

    #science #ecology #evolution

  4. #Socialinsect #nests are #ecosystems with a #diversity of #organisms.
    In #leafcutterant #Atta #texana nests, mite #Histiostoma #bakeri reduces harmful #fungi in detritus chambers (S.F. Wirth & J.C. Moser 2008).
    A. Panchal et al. (2025) found #termite #Odontotermes #obesus to reduce harmful fungi from its food #funguscultivar using fungicides of #bacteria.

    ©#StefanFWirth

    Ref
    (2008)
    Proceed. 6th EURAAC

    (2025)
    doi.org/10.1126/science.adr2713

    pic
    O. obesus, Nikhil More, 2020,
    creativecommons.org/licenses/b

  5. In "The Raid on the Termites" (Paul Ernst, 1932), an #entomologist daydreams about being shrunk to ant-size and exploring a #termite mound. His friend finds the notion of being “suddenly confronted by a thing as big as a horse, with fifteen-foot jaws of steely horn that could slice [him] in two” exciting. Jim imagines writing a book:

      “What a book of travel it would make! ‘The Raid on the Termites. Exploring an Insect Hell. Death in an Ant-hill…’”
      “Termitary! Termitary!” corrected Denny irritably.

    Doing a long press on the word, what sayeth Wiktionary in #koReader?

    _Termitary: an anthill built and occupied by termites._

    #words #vocabulary #termites #insects