Termites are a group of detritophagous eusocial insects which consume a wide variety of decaying plant material, generally in the form of wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are distinguished by their moniliform antennae and the soft-bodied and often unpigmented worker caste for which they have been commonly termed “white ants”; however, they are not ants, to which they are only distantly related. About 2,972 extant species are currently described, 2,105 of which are members of the family Termitidae.
Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattodea (along with cockroaches). Termites were once classified in a separate order from cockroaches, but recent phylogenetic studies indicate that they evolved from cockroaches, as they are deeply nested within the group, and the sister group to wood eating cockroaches of the genus Cryptocercus. Previous estimates suggested the divergence took place during the Jurassic or Triassic. More recent estimates suggest that they have an origin during the Late Jurassic, with the first fossil records in the Early Cretaceous.
Similarly to ants and some bees and wasps from the separate order Hymenoptera, most termites have an analogous “worker” and “soldier” caste system consisting of mostly sterile individuals which are physically and behaviorally distinct. Unlike ants, most colonies begin from sexually mature individuals known as the “king” and “queen” that together form a lifelong monogamous pair. Also unlike ants, which undergo a complete metamorphosis, termites undergo an incomplete metamorphosis that proceeds through egg, nymph, and adult stages. Termite colonies are commonly described as superorganisms due to the collective behaviors of the individuals which form a self-governing entity: the colony itself. Their colonies range in size from a few hundred individuals to enormous societies with several million individuals. Most species are rarely seen, having a cryptic life-history where they remain hidden within the galleries and tunnels of their nests for most of their lives.
Termites’ success as a group has led to them colonizing almost every global landmass, with the highest diversity occurring in the tropics where they are estimated to constitute 10% of the animal biomass, particularly in Africa which has the richest diversity with more than 1000 described species. They are important decomposers of decaying plant matter in the subtropical and tropical regions of the world, and their recycling of wood and plant matter is of considerable ecological importance. Many species are ecosystem engineers capable of altering soil characteristics such as hydrology, decomposition, nutrient cycling, vegetative growth, and consequently surrounding biodiversity through the large mounds constructed by certain species.
Termites have several impacts on humans. They are a delicacy in the diet of some human cultures such as the Makiritare in the Alto Orinoco province of Venezuela, where they are commonly used as a spice. They are also used in traditional medicinal treatments of various diseases and ailments, such as influenza, asthma, bronchitis, etc. Termites are most famous for being structural pests; however, the vast majority of termite species are innocuous, with the regional numbers of economically significant species being: North America, 9; Australia, 16; Indian subcontinent, 26; tropical Africa, 24; Central America and the West Indies, 17. Of known pest species, 28 of the most invasive and structurally damaging belong to the genus Coptotermes. The distribution of most known pest species is expected to increase over time as a consequence of climate change. Increased urbanization and connectivity is also predicted to expand the range of some pest termites.
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Ancient Network Of Massive Termite Mounds In Brazil Are “Biological Wonders”
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34,000-year-old termite mounds in South Africa are still being used
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There is an r/acid Marxism where people try to keep that spirit going but it is wild there isn’t a space for those emotions carved out. It’s gnosticism, marxism, and some other thing. I often want the recipe for it but I can’t figure it out. The only other time I feel it is deep sci-fi. Like, transhumanist xenofiction and stuff. Maybe it is actually just spirituality. Like, a little bit of the opium of the masses to make the cocktail hit just right. I dunno.
I sincerely believe that, if you avoid the trap of eternally inward gazing academic pedantry, you’re going to hit a point where the only way to grow in wisdom is to figure out that language isn’t actually adequate for conveying a lot of ideas and understanding, and you have to start, idk, hacking language to make it work. Like, there’s a point where you can’t put things in to words anymore, you need to think without words, and at that point the only thing you can do with language is metaphors, paradoxes, jokes, puns, pleas, rants poetry. You have to break language to make it adequate for expressing really deep thought, and even broken it’ll never be more than adequate.
A lot of people seem to come to esotericism way, way too early and engage with it at a very superficial level, “The Secret” shit where they think it’s for doing magic or describing hidden mystic realities, but if you get there late in the game when you’re ready for it you can use it to at least kind of communicate deep understandings of how horrifically, irreducibly complex things are, how horribly interlinked and intermeshed everything is, in ways that are otherwise difficult to express.
I always like that secret in that is a philosophy based on accepting the power of white privilege. Like that is shitty. Howver it is closer to a materialist analysis than liberalism and that is wild.
That is interesting framing to think about our language not having structures to deal with deep wisdom because our language was invented to count goats