Termite question

[mattymeischke]

I have been feeding termites for some months now, and have been rewarded this week with a clutch of redcheeked cordons. I have a couple of questions, though, and was hoping that someone might be able to help me.

(i) Sometimes they last a week before they start to die, sometimes after three days there are no termites, dead or alive, left in the bin. Is this to do with weather, or is there perhaps a mystery termite thief? This has been less of a problem since I got a different bin to use with a better fitting lid. Maybe ants?

(ii) Sometimes there is a pleasing eucalyptusy smell coming from the broken mound in the bin, and they seem to last longer when this is the case. Could they be being sustained by residual edible matter? Is there any merit in giving them something to eat or drink to sustain them?

(iii) The termite extractor I have seen on this site is awesome, but I've not got the time to make one right now. Has anyone had any other ideas for improving the termite:matrix ratio in harvested mound? As an example, they seem to desert the chunks of mound on top of the bin, so these can be removed leaving the termites concentrated in the lower parts of the bin.

Thank you all for any thoughts on the subject,
mm.

[SamDavis]

Mine can last for many weeks (or longer) in a bin. I forget the species names, but they're the small easily cracked open mound variety. The ones with the rock hard outside to the nest don't seem to survive so well - probably because the crumbly inside breaks up as they're harvested.
Here's what I do...
1. Try to collect the largest chunks of nest possible.
2. Shove them in a bin (with grease around the top to stop ants entering and termites leaving).
3. They seem to love old egg cartons. I dampen one under a tap briefly and then shove in the bin. But I don't harvest termites from these egg cartons. I try not to disturb the nest as much as possible.
4. I remove a decent chunk every few days (enough to last me 3 or 4 days) using an old chisel and hammer to break it off. I hack it up and extract the termites into largish flat tupperware containers. I place a few bits of torn up egg carton on top. To feed out shake these bits of egg carton into the dish and spoon out the mass of termites (and nest dust) attracted underneath each bit of egg carton.
5. You can put the tupperware container in the fridge and they'll last longer. They survive up to about 2 weeks, but usually I just leave them out on the counter.
6. Make sure to chuck out all the old nest bits after extraction (don't put them back in the bin). It seems to me that there needs to be a decent density of termites to termite nest or fungus will take over and rapidly kill the entire nest.
And if you do collect the rock hard nest species (or others where the nest crumbles apart) then you can sift them out immediately and freeze most that wont be used within a few days. I've found my finches are almost as happy to eat them frozen compared to live.

[desertbirds]

There are so many types of termites that you need to investigate which type you have Matty. Termites have a built in temp/humidity gauge. I tried wheelie bins ect but also found that most of the termites end up at the bottom after a few days. i swithched to using the kids clamshell/ sandpit type containers and they worked a treat for me. The problem with containers that dont breathe is that the mounds can quickly become mouldy if moisture is added. I pile up broken mounds into the containers and place a damp folded up sheet over the top but the mounds (and termites) can still breathe. I have kept the local type for up to 4 weeks wihout adding much except for a little water or dampeining the sheet each day. Ive occasionally been lucky enough to collect a queen and the birds love the freshly hatched white termites.
Termites need a certain amount of humidity but too much and it goes mouldy real quick. If you plan on collecting termites and making them a regular live food source i would strongly recommend getting all containers up off the ground and at a workable height .This also makes it easier to keep ants out as they looove termites.

[Tintola]

This has been less of a problem since I got a different bin to use with a better fitting lid. Thank you all for any thoughts on the subject,
mm.

Reading between the lines, I see that you are putting a tight fitting lid on them. You might be suffocating them if there is no airflow.

[mattymeischke]

Excellent ideas, gentlemen, I shall set to work.
I'm pretty sure I'm getting Heterotermes ferox; we have a limited range of termites here.
I use wool grease to keep the ants out as well as keeping the termites in, and it has been quite effective.
The current bin is a mini (3' high) wheely bin, so not quite airtight, and this one has (so far) been better at keeping them alive.
With the last lid I was worried that some flying thing was creeping in at night and pinching my termites.

We have a symbiotic bullant in some of the mounds here, that keeps fat pupae inside the mound and races to defend the mound against my shovel.

Thank you again,
mm.

[SamDavis]

I'm pretty sure I'm getting Heterotermes ferox; we have a limited range of termites here.

I don't think this species builds a mound so is probably not the one you are collecting. I'm pretty sure the 2 mound species I collect around my place are Nasutitermes exitiosus and Coptotermes lacteus. The C.l. species builds the mound with the very hard clay exterior - you need a mattock to open the mound and the interior is very fragile and crumbly. N.e. is the bettter one to collect (and I suspect maybe the species you are collecting). It's mound is much easier to split open (a sharp spade usually works) and they are the ones that last for many weeks. I need some more shortly so I'll try to remember to take some photos and maybe someone more knowledgable can confirm my scientific names.

We have a symbiotic bullant in some of the mounds here, that keeps fat pupae inside the mound and races to defend the mound against my shovel.

Yes, same here. I usually leave these mounds alone. However I find you can often harvest from the other side of the mound which seems to be sealed off from the bullants.

[Tiaris]

I don't know whether the bigger ants are too symbiotic with the termites or whether they are just termite predators which stay in the mound once infiltrated for easy pickings - not much of a benefit to the termites.
The storage & use of termites does require a bit of fine-tuning to whatever suits your local variety but all termites require some moisture and ventilation for optimum storage but too much or too little of either will be harmful. Generally a small amount of water tipped or sprayed onto the stored mound pieces every couple of days is adequate provided this is not so much as to pool in the bottom of their bin/tub. Reasonable airflow also allows any extra moisture to dry off & thus preventing fungal problems, however too open/sunny/hot/exposed conditions without some moisture will result the termites shrivelling up & dying - a bit of a fine line with some types. Generally, in a shady spot an open-topped bin would be perfect ventilation.
Heterotermes ferox are mound builders. As already mentioned there are numerous species & some locations contain at least a few species in the one area. Your local pest controllers should be able to give accurate identification of which species you have - my local blokes know their termite species very well & have been a great source of info on my local termites & their habits/preferences/life cycles.

[SamDavis]

Heterotermes ferox are mound builders.

Not so. All references I've seen disagree. For example...

Urban Pest Management in Australia By John Gerozisis, Ion Staunton, Phillip Hadlington - p104 towards the bottom of the first column
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=yyF ... st&f=false

Australian termites and other common timber pests By Phillip Hadlington - p53 under nest type
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=U6V ... st&f=false

[Tiaris]

Maybe pest controllers aren't the best place to go for ID then.

[SamDavis]

Some time ago I was investigating selling termites commercially. After numerous discussions it became obvious that many pest controllers and arborists really had no idea about termite species. They just know how to kill them! I was hoping that arborists would be able to collect termites for me as they encountered them whilst felling trees. It turns out that the pest guys (who are sometimes also the arborists) pump poison into any and all termite nests about a fortnight before felling commences. Sort of stuffed my idea! A number of arborists were quite keen until we discovered the damn council has a policy that termites must be poisoned before felling. In my experience trying to change council policy is like banging your head agtainst a brick wall. Gary Fitt (QFS president) is an entomologist with CSIRO and he kindly gave me the names of some CSIRO termite experts. I haven't yet got around to following up in any detail, but may do at some stage. There seems to be a market for them - birds, reptiles, spider, amphibian keepers all want them.