What do termites eat?

What do termites eat? Termites eat a wide range of nutrients from plants, plant cellulose and its products as staple food, fungi and lignin, occasionally also eat starch, sugar and protein and so on. However, it is also common for termites to eat man-made fibers, plastics, wires, cables and even bricks, stones, metals, etc., which are corroded and melted by chemicals such as formic acid (formic acid). In addition, it can also devour termite carcasses in the same ant nest, old skin shed during the development of young ants, and eggs and even young ants in the absence of external food. However, eating each other is not their normal way of nutrition, termite food can be summarized as follows:

living plant

Many species of termites feed on plant roots and stems, especially seedlings, young stems and roots.

withered plant

Cellulose plays an extremely important role in the diet of termites. Many species of termites not only feed on natural wood and dry plants, but also eat dead stumps, fallen leaves and dead wood parasitized by wood rot fungi. Odontotermes nigropinnis and Macrotermes flavescens also feed on dried cow dung. In addition, termites can also feed on a variety of processed products containing cellulose, such as paper, cloth, etc.

Although termites feed on a large amount of cellulose, termites alone cannot complete the whole process of digesting cellulose. Except termite family, termite intestines contain a large number of single-celled organisms, including four classes of protozoa (flagellates, sarcopods, sporophytes, ciliata) and bacteria, more than 300 species have been named. These microorganisms are symbiotic with termites, and only with the help of these microorganisms can cellulose be digested and transformed into substances that termites can absorb and utilize.

microbial

Termites can also supplement other nutrients from microorganisms. Some termites feed on fungi. These fungi have two types, one is specially cultivated by termites, and the other is not specially cultivated by termites.

minerals

Termites secrete a high concentration of formic acid, which reacts with silver to form silver formate, a black powder that termites eat.

other

Termite carcasses, young ants molting, ant eggs and young ants, termites also often eat some books, files, paper, cloth, silk and other fiber materials.