Underbug

2018-08-21
Underbug

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  • Author: Lisa Margonelli
  • Publisher: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux
  • ISBN: 0374712387
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 320

The award-winning journalist Lisa Margonelli, national bestselling author of Oil on the Brain: Petroleum’s Long, Strange Trip to Your Tank, investigates the environmental and economic impact termites inflict on human societies in this fascinating examination of one of nature’s most misunderstood insects. Are we more like termites than we ever imagined? In Underbug, the award-winning journalist Lisa Margonelli introduces us to the enigmatic creatures that collectively outweigh human beings ten to one and consume $40 billion worth of valuable stuff annually—and yet, in Margonelli’s telling, seem weirdly familiar. Over the course of a decade-long obsession with the little bugs, Margonelli pokes around termite mounds and high-tech research facilities, closely watching biologists, roboticists, and geneticists. Her globe-trotting journey veers into uncharted territory, from evolutionary theory to Edwardian science literature to the military industrial complex. What begins as a natural history of the termite becomes a personal exploration of the unnatural future we’re building, with darker observations on power, technology, historical trauma, and the limits of human cognition. Whether in Namibia or Cambridge, Arizona or Australia, Margonelli turns up astounding facts and raises provocative questions. Is a termite an individual or a unit of a superorganism? Can we harness the termite’s properties to change the world? If we build termite-like swarming robots, will they inevitably destroy us? Is it possible to think without having a mind? Underbug burrows into these questions and many others—unearthing disquieting answers about the world’s most underrated insect and what it means to be human.

Biology of Termites: a Modern Synthesis

2010-10-20
Biology of Termites: a Modern Synthesis

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  • Author: David Edward Bignell
  • Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
  • ISBN: 9048139775
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 576

Biology of Termites, a Modern Synthesis brings together the major advances in termite biology, phylogenetics, social evolution and biogeography. In this new volume, David Bignell, Yves Roisin and Nathan Lo have brought together leading experts on termite taxonomy, behaviour, genetics, caste differentiation, physiology, microbiology, mound architecture, biogeography and control. Very strong evolutionary and developmental themes run through the individual chapters, fed by new data streams from molecular sequencing, and for the first time it is possible to compare the social organisation of termites with that of the social Hymenoptera, focusing on caste determination, population genetics, cooperative behaviour, nest hygiene and symbioses with microorganisms. New chapters have been added on termite pheromones, termites as pests of agriculture and on destructive invasive species.

Termites

1997
Termites

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  • Author: M. J. Pearce
  • Publisher: CAB International
  • ISBN:
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 200

This text provides a scientific introduction to termites, including their behaviour, pest status and control.

Biology of Termites

2012-12-02
Biology of Termites

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  • Author: Kumar Krishna
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISBN: 0323144586
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 612

Biology of Termites, Volume I presents the anatomical, physiological, biochemical, and behavioral laboratory and field studies of termite species. Although termites have been associated mainly with damage, only less than 10% of the species have actually been recorded as pests, obscuring their important ecological role in the breakdown of vegetative matter and their variety and complexity of structure, physiology, social behavior, caste differentiation and regulation, and other aspects of their biology. After briefly describing the social organization, classification, and research history of termites, the book discusses the external morphology of these species and the similarities and differences between the various groups and the different castes. The subsequent chapters cover the internal anatomy of termites, including their digestive physiology, exocrine and endocrine glands, reproductive and nervous systems, and sense organs. Other chapters deal with the social behavior and communication in the termites and the termite colonizing flights and associated activities. The book also examines caste differentiation in the three lower termite families, namely, Hodotermitidae, Kalotermitidae, and Rhinotermitidae. This volume includes discussions on the rearing, feeding, and biochemistry of termites; the radioisotopes for feeding studies; and the moisture requirements for termite survival. The concluding chapters deal with the introduction or interception of termites by humans and their association with fungi, as well as the relationships of termite hosts with termitophiles. Termite biologists, zoologists, botanists, ecologists, behaviorists, biochemists, endocrinologists, and economic entomologists will find this volume invaluable.

Termites

2010-08-15
Termites

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  • Author: Lynn George
  • Publisher: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc
  • ISBN: 1448810485
  • Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 26

We often think of termites as destroyers rather than builders. True, they are damaging little creatures as they tunnel through wood, but termites can actually be beneficial in many ways. Extensive mounds and tunnels under the ground improve soil quality. Students will find out about nest builders, The mound builders, And The hierarchy of a termite colony through this informative life science edition.

Termites and Soils

1971
Termites and Soils

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  • Author: Kenneth Ernest Lee
  • Publisher:
  • ISBN:
  • Category : Nature
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 272

Termite classification, biology and geographical distribution, Nests, mounds and galleries, Termites as soil animals, Termite populations, Effects on physical and chemical characteristics of soils, Effects on decomposition of organic matter and its incorporation in the soil, Modifications of soil profile morphology, Effects on vegetation, Agricultural significance of termites, Some ecological comparisons.

Best Termite Control

2010
Best Termite Control

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  • Author: Cameron Eisner
  • Publisher:
  • ISBN: 9781926917221
  • Category : House & Home
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 80

This book is a complete guide to termite control. The author put everything he knows about termites and how to get rid of them into simple, understandable language so you can easily learn all there is to know about termite control. Inside the book, you will learn things like... Termite Overview: The intriguing foundation to your termite control knowledge. Termite Colonies: Learn about how these pests live and operate. Termite Colony Organization: You have to know what kind of termite you're looking at and which ones you must kill. How Termites Work: If you want to properly protect your house, you need to understand exactly how termites work. Termite Lifecycles: Simple points to understanding termites and their lifecycles. Types of Termites: Great tips that will help you solve your termite problem quickly and efficiently. Detecting Termites: Learn the 5 signs that will accurately tell you if your home has been compromised or not. Natural Termite Control Overview: See how to get rid of termites in a healthy and effective way. Natural Control Keys: 3 simple ways to naturally control your termite problem. Other Forms of Control: Learn what the other termite control methods are that will keep your home termite-proof. Best Termite Baits: A great guide on how to kill termites with bait. Tenting Your Home: A simple guide to the most powerful way to get termites out of your house. Prevention: 19 important tips on keeping your home termite-free. How to Choose an Exterminator: 9 simple tips to make sure you hire the best termite exterminator. ... and much more! If you have termite problems or want to learn more about termite control, but didn't know where to start, then I encourage you to learn from the author's experience and get started on the right footing. This book contains everything you need to know to help you keep your house safe from termites!

Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams

1997-01-22
Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams

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  • Author: Mitchel Resnick
  • Publisher: MIT Press
  • ISBN: 9780262680936
  • Category : Computers
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 190

How does a bird flock keep its movements so graceful and synchronized? Most people assume that the bird in front leads and the others follow. In fact, bird flocks don't have leaders: they are organized without an organizer, coordinated without a coordinator. And a surprising number of other systems, from termite colonies to traffic jams to economic systems, work the same decentralized way. Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams describes innovative new computational tools that can qhelp people (even young children) explore the workings of such systems—and help them move beyond the centralized mindset.

Termites

2008-01-01
Termites

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  • Author: Sandra Markle
  • Publisher: Lerner Publications
  • ISBN: 0761340122
  • Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 48

Watch one of nature's hardest-working insect families in action--termites! Hundreds of thousands of termites can live together in one nest. The termite queen spends her life laying eggs. The eggs hatch into workers that clean the queen, watch over the eggs, search for food, tend the nest's gardens, and guard the nest and each other. But a termite family's most amazing feat is building the huge mound that protects the nest. Thousands of tiny termites take mouthfuls of soil from ground level and climb to the top of the mound. Mouthful by mouthful, the soil piles up until the mound is up to six feet (3 meters) across! In this exciting book, you can learn what makes mound-building termites similar to and different from other insects. Close-up photographs and diagrams reveal extraordinary details about termites' bodies, both inside and out. And you can perform an experiment that shows you how termites use scent trails to find their way to food and home again. Learn more about this exciting member of nature's fascinating Insect World.

Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology

2014-11-14
Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology

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  • Author: Y. Abe
  • Publisher: Springer
  • ISBN: 940173223X
  • Category : Science
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 469

The book is a new compendium in which leading termite scientists review the advances of the last 30 years in our understanding of phylogeny, fossil records, relationships with cockroaches, social evolution, nesting, behaviour, mutualisms with archaea, protists, bacteria and fungi, nutrition, energy metabolism,population and community ecology, soil conditioning, greenhouse gas production and pest status.