Termites are social creatures but closer related to cockroaches than other social insects. Most termites in the colony are workers and are sterile. Their eyes aren't properly developed , they harvest food and feed the nursery. The soldiers are also sterile, blind and defend the colony The termite's diet is mainly the digestion of dead plants and wood.

Termite mounds vary greatly in shape, some are also hidden underground and others are in trees (arboreal). Cathedral mounds can be above six metres in height. A functioning colony can exist for maybe one hundred years . Then the mound disintegrates.

The magnetic termite mounds are found in flat areas that get flooded. The spine points to the North South axis. Average height is two metres but can be up to four metres.

Why the shape? Thermo regulation. Temperatures can go down to four degrees at dawn with mists. The colony needs temperatures in the high twenties to operate effectively. The mound is not built underground as many others are. At midday ( the hottest part of the day) the mound is not getting much direct sun. The afternoon sun warms the west side, but the east side stays warm into the day.

How do they align the mounds? They are blind. They build mainly in the wet season and work from within the mound. They definitely use the magnetic field- an inherited genetic bearing. A stable magnetic field in the northern Australia may have influenced this.

Comntributed by Val Hocking
Photo: Val Hocking