4,225 km (2,625 miles) from home here in Launceston, Tasmania, is Litchfield NP in the Northern Territory of Australia. A long way from home for sure, it took many days to travel there a few years ago.
Magnetic and Cathedral Termite Mounds near Litchfield National Park in the Northern Territory. The mounds are up to 2 meters tall and can live up to a hundred years.
Magnetic termites build them.
Each mound has a single Queen who lays all the eggs alongside a massive workforce of blind, soft-skinned worker termite and defensive soldier termites that protect the nest using sticky secretions.
Natural predators are ants, if they get inside where the termites are and not stopped, they will kill the termites.
The Wedge shape mounds have a thin edge of the blade-like mounds that point directly north and south, while the broad flat sides face east and west. They are built this way by the termites to keep their home cool.
Their name, Magnetic Termite comes from the uncanny, compass-like orientation of their massive mounds.
Magnetic Termite act as grazing herbivores, feeding on surface vegetation, leaves, and dry grass in the tropical savannas of Northern Australia.
They are really big!
ReplyDeleteThey sure are massive.
DeleteOh my wonderful Margaret...how beautiful you are in this 'grand' nature...wonderful shot!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteThe mounds are unique and absolutely beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThey are indeed Angie.
DeleteThey are huge, Margaret.
ReplyDeleteThey are Linda, that one I'm standing next to was once of the larger ones in that area.
DeleteWow, they are huge—I've never seen anything like that, except maybe on TV!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!hugs Elke
You are welcome, and I hadn't seen such large ones either until we visited there.
DeleteThey look very big! Nature is amazing. Take care, Margaret.
ReplyDeleteNature sure is amazing, and each creature is put on earth to do their job.
DeleteGoodness! The Termite Mounds do look huge.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you in one of the photographs and looking at the map you certainly were a long way from home.
All the best Jan
Yes a very long way from home Jan, a lovely trip that year. Thank you.
DeleteThey would be quite fascinating to study. I didn't know about the threat from ants.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how ants can kill them, who would have thought.
DeleteWow! Just wow!
ReplyDeleteAmazing isn't it Bill.
DeleteA very interesting post. I didn't realize ants were their enemy. Fascinating to learn about them, thank you very much Margaret!
ReplyDeleteYou would think ants and termites got on well, but not the case. There is always something that kills something, it's the matter of knowing what is what, and who i who, Denise.
DeleteUy. Te mando un beso
ReplyDeleteThanks and same to you.
DeleteI always thought there was one or two mounds in an area, but you have a picture with a whole field of mounds! They are quite pretty.
ReplyDeleteWe were surprised to see so many R in the one area, as they are usually scattered here and there, it was a bit magic standing there seeing all the mounds.
Deleteholy heck if I came across a termite tower in nature, I think I'd freak out. I had no idea they lived in things that big.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, never saw a termite on the ground, did look from memory and for snakes as well. Massive the mounds.
DeleteNadpis jsem pochopila i bez překladače! 😸 Překvapila mě velikost těchto termitišť, určitě k tomu přispívá i podnebí Severního teritoria. Tady u nás nic takového není. Tak jako v Tasmánii tohle nebude.
ReplyDeleteFascinuje, jak to mají ti mravenci uspořádané, královna a pak dělnice a jak si to své dovedou bránit! Výborná je ta předposlední fotka, na ní je vidět, kolik těchto "staveb" v krajině je. Úžasné a díky za podívanou. ☺
Son estructuras bastante interessante. No había visto nada igual.
ReplyDeleteMe ha encantado la publicación.
Great information presented in this post.
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Those wedge-shaped mounds pointing precisely north-south to stay cool are such a clever piece of natural engineering, and the fact that a single Queen runs the whole colony for up to a hundred years is genuinely astonishing. 4,225 km is a proper trek to see them, Margaret — well worth it by the look of that field of mounds.
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Termite mounds are so efficient there are architects who design buildings incorporating the sophistication found in them.
ReplyDeleteThis is truly beautiful to see, Margaret.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know termite mounds could get so high.
I wish you a wonderful weekend.
All the best, Irma
Certainly almighty to witness
ReplyDeleteQue impressionante! A natureza é mágica mesmo!
ReplyDeleteAmazing!
ReplyDeleteYou look good in the pic !!
They are true marvels; seeing how you do it and how they survive—they are natural monuments.
ReplyDeleteBest regards.
Wow, totally amazing!
ReplyDeleteQue interesante Margaret, me ha encantado verlos y saber de ellos. Abrazos.
ReplyDeleteQuerida Margaret, si que te había dejado comentarios, los blog están muy mal últimamente, aunque parece que ya van un poquito mejor. Más abrazos.
ReplyDeleteOh wow.. what a sight!
ReplyDeleteWow, those mounds are amazing! I've never seen anything quite like it. Thanks for the interesting post!
ReplyDelete