Termites-Social Insects

Grade Level 1^st–3^rd

Lesson Overview

This lesson will introduce students to social insects, specifically termites. Insects such as ants, bees, wasps and termites live in highly organized societies called colonies. Each member of the colony has a specific job to do. If you take one termite from the colony it would not be able to survive on its own. Termites are decomposers, capable of digesting cellulose (wood).

Lesson

Set the Stage

 

Order: ISOPTERA (termites)
Simple (or gradual) metamorphosis

Like ants, termites are social insects. They live in colonies made up of thousands, even millions, of individuals that all work together to keep the society running smoothly. A termite colony has both a king and a queen. They are the parents of the entire colony. (Termite kings and queens are long lived insects, some living as long as 15-20 years!) The colony has three types of castes. The reproductive castes are the king and queen. The other castes are workers and soldiers. Soldier termites have large mandibles, or jaws, and protect the colony. The specialization of the soldier caste is principally a defense against predation by ants. Workers clean the nest, care for the young, and supply the colony with food. Termites use pheromones or chemical secretions to help regulate the numbers in each caste and to communicate between individuals in the colony. These chemical pheromones are passed from one termite to another by grooming each others bodies. For example, if there are too many soldier termites, the level of "soldier" pheromone is very high. When this happens, fewer nymphs (immatures) develop into soldiers. If many soldiers have been killed, low levels of "soldier" pheromone cause more nymphs to be soldiers.

Termites can do something that almost no other animal in the world can do: they can eat wood. Some termites eat dry wood, and some eat damp, rotten wood. Termites eat dead trees, telephone poles and even the wood framing of your house. Termites cannot digest wood by themselves; they depend on tiny bacteria and protozoans in their "gut" to help them. Termites would starve to death without these microorganisms no matter how much wood they ate. Some termites are pests because they eat our homes, schools and even books, but they actually play an important role in recycling dead wood and enriching the soil. They also provide food for other animals.

When termites infest homes and buildings they are considered pests. This is when people need Integrated Pest Management or IPM. IPM programs use current, comprehensive information on the life cycles of pests and their interaction with the environment. This information, in combination with available pest control methods, is used to manage pest damage by the most economical means, and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment.

Discussion

Termites have pale, soft bodies that are always in danger of drying out. To prevent this, they spend most of their time under ground where it is cool and damp. Termites must avoid the outside world. They build covered mud tunnels called shelter tubes. These tubes protect them while they travel from their nest to the food source.

Vision is not important to most termites because they spend their lives in the dark. Many termites do not have eyes at all. The exception to this is the winged reproductive termite. They need to see where they are going when they fly seeking a mate. Instead of visual clues, termites use chemical signals to communicate with one another. These chemical signals, or pheromones, tell the members of the colony where new food sources are. Termites must continually forage for food sources and some can travel as far as the length of several football fields.

Group Activity

Termite Foraging Game Grades 1-5

Now, it is time for individual assessment. Hand out the metamorphosis cards (PDF – 75k), which show actual photographs of the various stages of the butterfly metamorphosis and the pastas from the material list. Explain the shape of the pasta and the matching life stage to the students. (The orzo pasta is the egg, the rotini is the pasta representing the larva, shell pasta represents the pupa and the bow tie pasta represents the adult butterfly or moth.) Instruct students to glue to correct pasta/life stage to the metamorphosis card in the correct order.