What are the enemies of termites?

Termites are eusocial insects that live in colonies and feed on cellulose material such as wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung. As pests, they can cause serious structural damage to buildings. However, termites have natural enemies that help keep their populations in check.

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What eats termites?

Many predators feed on termites as a food source. The main enemies of termites include:

Ants – Certain ant species prey on termites. Army ants, driver ants, and some fire ants are especially aggressive termite predators.
Aardvarks – These anteaters have a specialized tongue and snout to slurp up large numbers of termites from their mounds.
Anteaters – With their long sticky tongues, anteaters such as pangolins and armadillos eat both ants and termites.

Numbat – This marsupial termite predator has a long, sticky tongue to capture termites.
Echidnas – These spiny anteaters use their long snouts to raid termite mounds and nests.
Aardwolves – This hyena relative gets nearly all its food from termites and other insects.

Chimpanzees – Using sticks, chimps are able to “fish” for termites in their mounds.
Bearded pigs – Using their snouts, these wild pigs root around rotting wood for termites.
Insectivorous birds – Woodpeckers, brown creepers, shrikes, and other birds eat termites.

Frogs and lizards – Many small reptiles and amphibians eat termites.

These predators help control termite populations through direct consumption. However, some also destroy termite nests and mounds while foraging, further limiting termite numbers and expansion.

What diseases affect termites?

Termites can be infected by various pathogens that may help suppress their numbers:

Fungi – Fungal pathogens such as Metarhizium anisopliae can infect and kill termites. Fungus-infected termites spread spores throughout the colony.
Nematodes – Parasitic roundworms in the genus Steinernema enter termite bodies and release deadly bacteria.
Protozoa – Adelina tenuis is a single-celled parasite that infects the gut of Reticulitermes termites.

Bacteria – Species such as Serratia marcescens can cause septicemia and death in termites.
Viruses – A densovirus has been found to be highly infectious to Coptotermes termites.

These microbes and parasites weaken and kill individual termites, while also being transmittable to others within the colony. Termite pathogens can be used in biological control of termite infestations.

What environmental factors limit termites?

Certain environmental conditions can stress termite colonies and constrain their expansion:

Temperature – Termites require specific temperature ranges. Overheating or freezing can kill a termite colony.
Moisture – Termites need adequate moisture levels to survive. Drought conditions will reduce termite numbers.

Food availability – Lack of cellulose food sources limits termite colony growth.
Competition – Other insects competing for food and nesting sites restricts termites.
Habitat disruption – Events like wildfires and flooding damage termite colonies.

Unfavorable conditions force termite colonies to contract and make them more vulnerable to other enemies. Manipulating moisture, food sources, and habitat can help control termites through environmental means.

What chemical control methods target termites?

Synthetic insecticides and pesticides are also used against termites:

Chlorinated hydrocarbons – Aldrin and dieldrin can be used against termites but linger in the environment.

Organophosphates – Chemicals like chlorpyrifos quickly disrupt termite nervous systems.
Pyrethroids – Bifenthrin and other pyrethroids are newer insecticides that repel and kill termites.
Chitin synthesis inhibitors – Diflubenzuron prevents termites from molting properly.

Metabolic inhibitors – Hydramethylnon blocks energy production in termite cells.
Insect growth regulators – Fenoxycarb and other IGRs disrupt termite growth and metamorphosis.

While effective, many chemical pesticides are being phased out due to environmental and toxicity concerns. Newer baits and localized treatments are safer options for termite control.

How do termites defend themselves?

Termites have defenses that protect them against enemies:

Hardened nests – Mounds made of mud or chewed wood are difficult for predators to breach.
Soldier caste – Soldier termites have enlarged jaws to fend off ants and other attackers.

Alarm pheromones – Chemical signals recruit soldiers and workers to fight threats.
Escape routes – Pre-built tunnels allow termites to flee from colony invaders.
Mutualism – Some termite species form relationships with ants for protection.

Camouflage – Termites blend in with soil, wood, and other nest materials to hide.

Due to their small size, termites rely mainly on cryptic defenses like concealment and colony structure. However, they can swarm aggressively when disturbed to drive away enemies.

Examples of termite predators

Here are some specific examples of predation on termites:

Matabele ants in Africa raid termite mounds, killing and eating adults, eggs, and larvae. They may kill over 95% of a colony.
Numbats in Australia consume up to 20,000 termites per day. Their long sticky tongues can probe deep into nests.
Anteaters such as tamanduas use their sharp claws and strong limbs to break into termite mounds and devour thousands of individuals.

Aardwolves in Africa get essentially all their food from termites and ants. An aardwolf can eat up to 250,000 termites per night.
Ground hornbills in Africa forage for termites by using stones to break into nest mounds. Each bird may eat over 50,000 termites per day.

These examples demonstrate the incredible predation pressure that termites face from specialized insectivores. Even small daily consumption by an individual animal accumulates into millions of termites eaten per year.

Termite disease outbreak examples

Here are some instances where pathogens caused epidemics in termite populations:

Metarhizium fungus devastated colonies of the invasive termite Coptotermes formosanus in Japan in the 1980s, helping to control its spread.
Fungal disease has been responsible for up to 90% mortality in Reticulitermes flavipes colonies in Toronto.

The nematode Steinernema kushidai caused large die-offs in Coptotermes formosanus colonies in Louisiana and Texas in the 2000s.
Protozoan parasites such as Adelina and Monocercomonoides have been linked to collapses of Reticulitermes colonies in Ontario.
A densovirus epidemic in 2008-2009 killed up to 80% of Coptotermes acinaciformis termites around Brisbane, Australia.

Epidemics like these can rapidly reduce termite infestations, sometimes almost eliminating local populations. More research is focused on using pathogens as biological controls.

Environmental effects on termites

Termites are strongly influenced by environmental factors including:

Cold winter temperatures in northern regions limiting active colonies.

Arid climates and droughts reducing survival in drier areas.
Deforestation and urbanization eliminating wood food sources.
Wildfires killing colonies and removing foraging habitat.

Flooding from heavy rains collapsing underground nests.
Invasive ants like fire ants and argentine ants outcompeting native termite species.

Climate change and habitat loss may be shifting the distribution of termites by imposing environmental stresses. Range expansions of invasive competitors are also constricting termite populations through competition in some regions.

Termite Species	Major Predators	Diseases	Environmental Factors
Coptotermes formosanus	Ants, aardvarks	Metarhizium fungus	Cold winters
Reticulitermes flavipes	Anteaters, matabele ants	Protozoan parasites	Deforestation
Coptotermes acinaciformis	Numbats, echidnas	Densonucleosis virus	Drought

This table summarizes key enemies, diseases, and environmental factors for three major termite pest species.

Chemical control of termites

Synthetic termiticides used against termites include:

Termiticide Class	Active Ingredients	Mode of Action
Organochlorines	Aldrin, dieldrin	Neurotoxins
Organophosphates	Chlorpyrifos, terbufos	Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
Pyrethroids	Bifenthrin, deltamethrin	Sodium channel modulators
Phenylpyrazoles	Fipronil	GABA receptor blockers

Many of these chemicals are being phased out and replaced with more targeted baits, dusts, and fumigants.

Biological control of termites

There are several biological pest control methods being used and developed against termites:

Entomopathogenic nematodes that seek out and infect termites.
Parasitic wasps that lay eggs inside termite bodies.

Fungal pathogens that can spread infection through contact.
Using pheromones and hormones to disrupt termite communication and breeding.
Introducing competitive ants and other insects to displace termites.

Plant extracts such as neem oil that deter and possibly kill termites.

Biological controls may provide safer, more sustainable options for long-term management of termites. However, more field testing is still needed to develop reliable biological control products.

Conclusion

Termites face a wide range of natural enemies including predators, pathogens, and environmental conditions that help regulate their numbers. Ants, aardvarks, anteaters, and other insectivores all consume large quantities of termites daily. Fungal, viral and protozoan diseases also cause epidemics in termite colonies. Factors like temperature extremes, droughts, and habitat loss further suppress termite populations. Synthetic insecticides are still the main control methods, but biological controls and baits are emerging as safer alternatives for termite management.