Termites swarmed during the night, attracted to house lights. First mass swarming of Mastotermes for the season. Brief shower of rain overnight totalling 1.6 mm. Minimum overnight temperature 26.7°C, RH 94%. Many termites didn't survive to daylight.
Ant hill on Plenty Highway between East MacDonnells 4x4 Track (or FA9 Fossicking Area) and Jervois Station
On the sandy-muddy bank of a natural stream. Total length about 5.4 mm.
with some weird eggs??
with Formica sanguinea, same observation as: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/205939460
in Lasius flavus nest
with Polyergus rufescens, same observation as: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/205939461
Thought I was looking at a dungpile eroded by wind, turned out to be a termite mound.
not sure why, but there were a lot of dead termites piled up. The ants only transported the already dead ones away
Fancy arthropod architecture. Built at night.
I'm somewhat sure this is mysticum since queens were flying, but I'm having trouble distinguishing from M. rogeri. The clypeus looks round enough for mysticum...
Extracted from under the bark of a dead log. Log had been pointed out to me by Fielisy "Fidel" Bemaheva, who is an extremely knowledgeable old hand at Madagascar ants.
As mentioned in my comment below, I collected this nymph at the same site I documented a cave cockroach in July 2021. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/81462214
I had been meaning to come back since then but finally got around to it to check for more. I collected this one and have it alive right now at home. There were plenty of surinam cockroaches around it but this one looked different and my photos appear to match the one I documented in 2021 and other photos online.
Photos showing location: https://flic.kr/p/2opyDXJ
Related observations of organisms under same rock and nearby rocks:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-03-27&place_id=any&user_id=joemdo
Renocilla bollandi
Named after the legend- Bob Bolland
Found : Maeda point, Okinawa-JP
Depth: 95feet living on a Scorpionfish ( Scorpaenopsis diabolus, Tanaka 1917 )
Fish Size : 70-80mm
Isopod size: 15mm -20mm
More info about this beautiful species https://okinawanaturephotography.com/parasitic-isopods-of-the-ryukyu-islands/
Found in the nest of this Pheidole sp. ant:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/117803814
Approx. 3mm.
2021/04/05 - 2021/04/29
46°39‘25‘‘N 15°31‘21‘‘E
Found by station manager Santatra Tototsara. Apparently attracted to white sheets around noon.
The termites kept going round in circles for more than a half hour (caught in a pheromone loop?). Some scattered away and formed a trail that all eventually followed.
Caps 95 and 90 mm diameter; Heights 230 and 170 mm; on floor of very narrow erosion gully about 2.4 deep; mushrooms probably currently getting about 1.5 hours direct sun per day just before midday; black "sand" is Southern Harvester Termite (Microhodotermes viator) frass.
Termite frass observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19880111
Are these mushrooms usually associated with these termites or their frass, or is this coincidence?
These huge quantities of termite frass are common here. Associated with 'heuweltjies'. Closeup shows pellets on 1 mm squares.
Tiny termites? Most of them are around 2-3 mm, some big ones are about 5 mm.
3rd and 5th pictures are closeup.
I found several large colonies on the bank of San Gabriel river, near Tejas camp. The weather is warm today, about 68 F when I found them.
I've never seen such strange looking termites before, very unusual.
Arthropode Insecte, Projet Taï Mab Unesco No1, Taï Parc national, Côte d'Ivoire
Copyright IRD - Gerard Galat
Primatologie Orstom/IRD
https://www.animalscoop.fr/
Snorkel type mud tubes about 10 cm high
Reared from Polistes sp.
Det. Duane McKenna, 2009, based on DNA analysis
Collected 20 (!!!), at a mercury vapor light
spmns sent to TAMUIC and Harvard MCZ
Clung to the beak of a Whimbrel that was foraging in the seaweed, the bird could not dislodge it, after a couple of minutes the isopod dropped off. The Whimbrel continued to feed with the isopod on board.
A l'interior d'una cavitat (cova)
I would very much appreciate any pointers on ID of Bifiditermes durbanensis vs. Porotermes planiceps.
Stop on the county road while driving back to hotel to recharge for the evening moth event, etc. Earlier morning clouds and nice breeze had left us. Now sunshine and increasing heat.
S131 Road West of Letaba, Kruger NP, SOUTH AFRICA
Notes:
the *dealated Queen will tip her abdomen up in the air and releases sex pheromone into the air to attract males (ie Kings). *dealated: divested of the wings - used of postnuptial adults of insects (as ants) that drop their wings after a nuptial flight