Spinifex termite (Nasutitermes triodiae) mounds (DHAMIRA)
I took this photo, while I was went for jungle safari in Chitwan National Park. It was taller than me, about 6.5 ft high. It is very surprising story. A very small insect (Dhamira in Nepali) can build such a huge palace like mound nests from sand and clay.It encourage me to read more. I found the following:
Millions of grass-eating termites can thrive in a single mound, a massive structure at times weighing over 10 tonnes. Mounds vary in shape from colony to colony: they may have blunt or pointed tops, and a smooth or bulbous appearance.
Soldiers guard the colony from attacking predators by spraying defensive chemicals from the tip of an elongated tube called the "nasus": this has earned the species its other name, the nasute termite. Antimicrobial compounds in the secretions of soldiers may also safeguard the colony from parasites. [http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160113-…]
Millions of grass-eating termites can thrive in a single mound, a massive structure at times weighing over 10 tonnes. Mounds vary in shape from colony to colony: they may have blunt or pointed tops, and a smooth or bulbous appearance.
Soldiers guard the colony from attacking predators by spraying defensive chemicals from the tip of an elongated tube called the "nasus": this has earned the species its other name, the nasute termite. Antimicrobial compounds in the secretions of soldiers may also safeguard the colony from parasites. [http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160113-…]