In Afrikaans, they are called rysmiere, literally "rice ants," although their name is more commonly rendered into English as "white ants." They are not ants, though; they're not even closely related to the ants. In fact, ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 19, 2015
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38
Termite construction projects have no architects, engineers or foremen, and yet these centimeter-sized insects build complex, long-standing, meter-sized structures all over the world. How they do it has long puzzled scientists.
Plants & Animals
Feb 11, 2019
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124
As animal architects go, the average termite doesn't have many tools at their disposal - just their bodies, soil and saliva. And as guidance, variations in wind speed and direction and daily fluctuations in temperature as ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 2, 2015
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534
The first documented evidence of wild chimpanzee mothers teaching their offspring to use tools has been captured by video cameras set to record chimpanzee tool-using activity at termite mounds in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 12, 2016
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0
Using sophisticated airborne imaging and structural analysis, scientists at the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology mapped more than 40,000 termite mounds over 192 square miles in the African savanna. They ...
Ecology
Sep 7, 2010
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0
The world's largest bee—a giant insect roughly the size of a human thumb—has been rediscovered in a remote part of Indonesia in its first sighting in nearly 40 years, researchers said Thursday.
Plants & Animals
Feb 21, 2019
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166
Birds build nests to keep eggs and baby nestlings warm during cool weather, but also make adjustments in nest insulation in such a way the little ones can keep cool in very hot conditions. Mammals, such as rabbits or groundhogs, ...
Ecology
Jun 18, 2021
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10
Termites might not top the list of humanity's favorite insects, but new research suggests that their large dirt mounds are crucial to stopping the spread of deserts into semi-arid ecosystems and agricultural lands. The results ...
Plants & Animals
Feb 5, 2015
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70
The climate control used by termites in their mounds could inspire tomorrow's climate-smart buildings. New research from Lund University in Sweden shows that future buildings inspired by the termites could achieve the same ...
Materials Science
Jul 7, 2023
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29
Termites and ants are stockpiling gold in their mounds, new CSIRO research has found.
Earth Sciences
Jun 17, 2013
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