Termites have a bad reputation as pests that can infest houses and destroy crops. But they are more than obnoxious pests. They are the oldest social insects with varying degrees of sociality. They function as crucial ecosystem engineers that enhance soil fertility, protect against erosion and mitigate climate change, and some of them are star architects that build amazing air-conditioned mounds.
Prof. Judith Korb
University of Freiburg, Germany
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Termites as social organisms
Termites evolved eusociality independently from social Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps). They are in fact ‘social cockroaches’ (Inwards et al. 2007). They evolved sociality more than 130-million-years ago with colonies that are headed by a queen and a king and, generally, male and female workers and soldiers (in contrast to social Hymenoptera, which are largely female societies with a queen and female workers) (Korb & Thorne 2017, Hellemans et al. 2024).
Termites are masters of construction. Della Torre, Public Domain
All termites are eusocial with reproductive division of labour. Yet their degree of social organisation varies considerably, from small simple societies with a few hundred individuals that all can become kings or queens to some of the most complex species with several million individuals with sterile workers (Korb & Thorne 2017). This variation allows us to study causes and consequences of varying social complexity.
Macrotermes bellicosus building the mound. Video credit: Malte Lehmann
Judith Korb
High social complexity
Macrotermes bellicosus​
Judith Korb
Low social complexity
Cryptotermes secundus
Ecosystem engineers
Termites make up around 40% of the biomass of soil-arthropods world-wide, which is more than any other taxon and roughly equivalent to human biomass (Rosenberg et al. 2023). They have essential roles for ecosystem functioning, especially in tropical and sub-tropical ecosystems. They are prey for myriads of animals and as main decomposers of dead plant material they foster soil fertility (Bignell & Eggleton 2000). Their tunnelling activity enhances water retention capacity of soils. Thus, they contribute to mitigate climate change by preventing erosion in cases of torrential rains and desiccation in cases of droughts (Evans et al. 2011, Bonachela et al. 2015). In addition, mound building species increase biodiversity by creating new micro-habitats that are home for many plants and animals that would not exist without these termites (Dangerfield et al. 1998). Thus, studying the ecological role of termites and protecting crucial species is of prime importance for maintaining functional sub/tropical ecosystems and conserving the rich biodiversity of these habitats.
40%
of the global soil-arthropod biomass
Star architects
Termites are amazing architects, who can construct structures that have 1000-times the size of the animals. These mounds serve as nests for the colony, and sometimes for cultivated fungi. Variation in mound shape reflects species-specific differences as well as adaptation to different environmental conditions. Thus, the termites create optimal homeostatic conditions within their nests by constructing mounds that function as protective shelters and air conditioners (Korb 2011). Termite mound building can inspire human construction and bionics.
Macrotermes bellicosus time-lapse. Video credit: Malte Lehmann
Bignell DE, Roisin Y, Lo N 2011. Biology of Termites: A Modern Synthesis. Springer Press.
Bourguignon T, Lo N 2021. Termites: Phylogeny and classification. In: Encyclopedia of Social Insects (ed. Starr CK), Springer Press, IUSSI, pp. 963-968.
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Hellemans S, et al. 2024. Genomic data provide insights into the classification of extant termites. Nature Communications 15:6724.
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Korb J 2021. Termites. In: Encyclopedia of Social Insects (ed. Starr CK), Springer Press, IUSSI, pp. 952-960.
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Korb J 2025. The architecture of termite mounds. In: Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior 3. Edition. Elsevier https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-29068-8.00092-1.
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Korb J 2025. Social evolution in termites. Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior 3. Edition. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-443-29068-8.00034-9.
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Krishna K, Grimaldi DA, Krishna V, Engel MS 2013 Treatise on the Isoptera of the world. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 377: 1–2704.
Suggested reading to find out more about termites
Cited above
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Bignell DE, Eggleton P 2000. Termites in ecosystems. In: Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology (eds. Abe T, Bignell DE, Higashi M) Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 363–388.
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Bonachela JA et al. 2015. Termite mounds can increase the robustness of dryland ecosystem to climate change. Science 347: 651–655.
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Dangerfield JM, McCarthy TS, Ellery WN 1998. The mound-building termite Macrotermes michaelseni as an ecosystem engineer. Journal of Tropical Ecology 14: 507–520.
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Evans TA, Dawes T, Ward, Lo N 2011. Ants and termites increase crop yield in a dry climate. Nature Communications 2: 262.
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Hellemans S, et al. 2024. Genomic data provide insights into the classification of extant termites. Nature Communications 15: 6724.
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Inward D, Beccaloni G, Eggleton P 2007. Death of an order: A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study confirms that termites are eusocial cockroaches. Biology Letters 3: 331–335.
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Korb J 2011. Termite mound architecture, from function to construction. In: Biology of Termites: A Modern Synthesis (eds. Bignell DE, Roisin Y, and Lo N) Springer, pp 349–374
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Korb J, Thorne B 2017. Sociality in termites. In: Rubenstein, D. R. & Abbot, P. (eds.): Comparative Social Evolution (eds. Rubenstein DR, Abbot P) Cambridge University Press, pp 124–152.
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Rosenberg Y et al. 2023.The global biomass and number of terrestrial arthropods. Science Advances 9: eabq4049.