The following is my entry to Amazing Nature Contest: Free Topic 1/9/22
Magnetic & Cathedral Termite Mounds
Being permanently on the road this year has its benefits of seeing the most amazing nature and wonders in my country Australia. On my travels through the Northern Territory (NT), I came across these Magnetic Termite mounds of which many stand over two meters high.
Up until recently I didn't know that these structures can be up to 100 years old and are only found in the far northern part of Australia. How many generations of termites have built these amazing structures?
Magnetic Termite mounds (above photos) are fascinating because of the extreme temperatures and weather conditions they content with, temperatures can reach 50+ degrees Celsius. They face their thin edges north-south and their broad backs face east-west.
The little magnetic termites cleverly build it this way because they like high humidity but a stable temperature. They build their nest like a compass needle according to Brown who was the former curator of insects at the Northern Territory Museum.
Besides Magnetic Termite Mounds there are Cathedral Termite Mounds (photos below) which are even bigger and can also be found in Litchfield National Park in the NT.
Century old building techniques are used by these tiny termites. Cut up dry grass is used to build the outer chambers while pushing up and up into the sky. Eventually the outer chambers are abandoned and filled with soil and all-the-while the caste soldiers protect the mound.
Each chamber contains a queen termite who lays eggs to keep the colony going. What's amazing about this is the fact that the Queen Termite can live between fifty and one hundred years. Basically as long as the mound exists.
Walking out in the soaring heat with nothing but the sound of cockatoos, buzzing insects and the soft rustling of the palm leaves in the wind, you are in another world. Giant Termite Mounds as far as the eye can see, silently standing there as a living monument, how amazing is nature!
This post is my entry to Amazing Nature Contest: Free Topic 1/9/22
Photos and written work is my own.
©️ingridontheroad
